Yes, we know that there are pockets of Gullah Geechee communities along the southeastern coastline, but were you aware that there are several inland too?? I didn’t think so.
The not to familiar link between the Sea Islands and the Black Seminole communities in the West is defined by a lesser-known chapter of history often called the “Saltwater Underground Railroad.”
During slavery, funerals were seen as a time to reconnect with the ancestors. Burials could only be held at night and by candlelight, after all of the day’s work was completed.
Want to find your roots? Listen in on why it’s a valuable and important journey to start.
A large part of my conversation with Luana focuses on a concept called heirs property, a form of land ownership that occurs when someone dies without a will, leaving heirs without a clear title to the property. Without definitive proof of land ownership, heirs property owners can’t get home improvement loans, farm loans, and certain kinds of insurance, among a host of other things.
When we think about slavery, we don’t usually consider the day to day or the gory details. The general knowledge of captivity, hard labor and cruelty are the basics, but for the most part, the actual experience that enslaved people went through are forgotten. Slavery inflicted generational trauma in so many different ways; fear, uncertainty, humiliation and mental and physical stressors.
Hilton Head consists of only a few historic neighborhoods that represent the Gullah families that called them home for seven or more generations. Even though the majority of the communities are sprinkled around the northern tip of the island, culturally, boundaries didn’t exist when it came to the overall sense of community that was typical for the Gullah
There’s no question that our Lowcountry, Bluffton and Hilton Head are well known and recognized for its beauty and being among the best places in the country to live, retire and vacation.
As you drive around the Hilton Head area, you run into beaches called Singleton, Burkes and Bradley, and streets called Burnt Church or Skull Creek, Robbers Row and Squire Pope. They spark ones imagination and curiosity: Is that a person’s name, or what does that mean, and what happened here? Did all of the churches built on this road burn down? Are there skulls in the creek? And, if so, whose skull? Did all of the robbers live on this row?
When true talent collides like that, there’s no telling what will happen. Besides, that’s the kind of collision that turns into a good thing. Especially when it’s about to happen right here on Hilton Head.
Beaufort County, South Carolina has a rich cultural history. Home to the towns of Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Port Royal and Beaufort, the county was instrumental during and after the Civil War.
