African American Culture

First Families of Hilton Head | The Bligens

October 24, 2019

Courage has many faces. Usually, courage is motivated by a steadfast desire to achieve an objective, or it is motivated by fear of failure. Regardless of the motivation, courage tends to emerge at just the right time; at the exact moment when an extraordinary response is needed. For the Bligen’s, time after time and situation after situation, the family faced difficult challenges, and it was their courage and strength that allowed them to survive and prevail.

What is Heirs Property?

October 24, 2019

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.

Mother Ethel Rivers

September 20, 2019

It’s not often that you have the opportunity to spend time with a centenarian; it’s a chance to pause and to take notes. Time with her is a chance to peek behind the historic curtain and receive first-hand knowledge and unexpected details from someone’s past. Still active and clear in her memories, Mother Ethel Rivers comes across as if she’s decades younger. It’s only when she starts to share her rich past that you realize how much of a rare island treasure that she is. She, however, doesn’t think so.

The Lowcountry’s Gullah Story Teller

August 1, 2019

Known island-wide as the Hilton Head Storyteller, Louise, who, at 73 years old, passionately and tirelessly breathes life into Gullah stories, while fighting to keep the history and culture of Hilton Head’s native islanders alive. As the curator of the Gullah Museum, Louise dedicates her life to collecting, protecting and preserving Gullah stories and artifacts for future generations.

PENN CENTER AND THE PORT ROYAL EXPERIMENT

August 1, 2019

On February 6, 1862, General Thomas Sherman initiated General Order No. 9, which outlined a plan for the abandoned plantations and opened the door for Northern societies to send volunteers and workers South to aid the freedmen. Once the Union Army occupied the island, the Port Royal Experiment began. This was a massive humanitarian effort to address the needs of the 10,000 newly freed men, women and children.

ARE YOU A GULLAH OR GEECHEE?

July 31, 2019

So where did the words
Gullah and Geechee come from? There’s a lot of speculation about their origins.
So are you a Gullah or a Geechee?
Over time, the names have been combined and have become interchangeable.

HILTON HEAD FIRST FAMILIES – The Jones

July 12, 2019

After the war, having an army pension was almost a life and death matter for these newly freed slaves. Many soldiers had to obtain witnesses to help them verify who they were, and that they were in fact veterans of the Civil War. Matthew Jones, one of the early residents of Historic Mitchelville, was one of those soldiers.

The Gullah Language

July 2, 2019

The language is almost like a code, spoken in a way that enables a conversation to be had without detection, to leave the non Gullah listener clueless as to what outsiders could be hearing.

MITCHELVILLE PRESERVATION PROJECT: Keeping History Alive, Moving it into the Future

June 24, 2019

Mitchelville is much more than an old plot of land. It’s the birthplace of blacks who became free from a life of bondage. A place where slaves were given a chance to self-govern and establish roots of their own in a land that they had adopted as their own, as well as maintain culture and traditions that continue today. The Mitchelville Preservation Project has been and continues to collect stories and artifacts that demonstrate the richness of the story of Mitchelville.

MITCHELVILLE FREEDOM PARK | The Birthplace of Freedom

June 24, 2019

Mitchelville was the heart of The Port Royal Experiment, which was launched by the U.S. government and proved to a skeptical American public that African-Americans would fight for freedom and country, work for wages within a free-enterprise labor system, and live responsibly as independent citizens. Mitchelville was constructed, inhabited and governed exclusively by previously enslaved freedom-seekers. Activities in this settlement were reported nationwide, ultimately influencing national reconstruction policies.

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