Tribally Known as Chief Hacha Kusso
Pearla Gillespie Harvey
I come from humble beginnings—rooted in faith, shaped by hardship, and driven by a deep love for
the unseen and unheard. I was born in Sylvania, Georgia, the eighth of ten children in a family
of farmers and sharecroppers. Life in the South during those days was tough. Many families
sought better opportunities in the North, and like so many others, my two younger brothers and I
were sent to live with our grandmother in Harlem, New York.
It was there, in my grandmother’s home, that my spiritual journey began. Every night we prayed on
our knees—a sacred family tradition. She was a devout woman of faith, and church attendance two
or three times a week was the norm. Around the age of seven, I began to feel the presence of the
Most High. That awareness never left me—I have never felt alone since.