Lowcountry Gullah activist Luana Graves Sellars talks about slavery’s long shadow and predatory development in the coastal southeast. by Sarah Melotte Reminisce | Image Credit : Sonja Griffin Evans May 17,
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.
To the Gullah, acreage is more than just a lot that has value. It a priceless, tangible and visible daily reminder of the blood, sweat and tears that the ancestors experienced. Sure, land can be assessed and given a price tag, however, for the Gullah, because of all that went into the initial purchase of the land, the ultimate value of it is priceless. The value of which has made historic Gullah land the culture’s greatest asset.
Led by Congressman Jim Clyburn, an act of Congress on October 12, 2006 (Public Law 109-338) gave the Corridor federal recognition. Authorized as part of the National Heritage Areas Act
Bennett envisions a historic trail that links the following sites and historic assets: “Santa Elena, telling the story of European Exploration and Settlement, Penn Center, telling the Gullah Geechee and Reconstruction stories, Beaufort and Port Royal telling the story of Reconstruction, and Hilton Head telling the stories of the Civil War and Mitchelville.”
By Luana M. Graves Sellars The Lowcountry is incredibly rich in heritage and culture and has a unique role in American history. From Charleston to Savannah, there is no doubt
The problem that exists with heirs property is two-fold. Acreage, in some cases, has been subdivided between family members with the land having been passed down generation to generation without a deed; the practice of which, makes the legal transfer or the division of property nearly impossible under the current laws.
Other than documenting the culture, the Corridor’s mission is to be a resource for all of the corridor’s community development organizations and their leaders in an effort to provide information and support to issues that have been prevalent within the Gullah communities, such as the erosion of the land to development and developers.
