Lowcountry community members discuss efforts to protect Gullah Geechee gravesites [Video]

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – To preserve Gullah Geechee and historically black gravesites throughout the Lowcountry, a former Charleston County Council member called a community briefing.

Several community members, as well as people who worked alongside the city, attended Saturday’s briefing, hoping to not only maintain cemeteries but to keep history alive.

“So I’m going to always talk about my history, always. It’s mandatory,” community member Victor Williams said.

Williams is a James Island native and said knowing your ancestors and your genealogy is a must in his family and in the Gullah Geechee culture.

He said that’s why it’s important to keep up with the basic maintenance of the gravesites, both marked and unmarked.

“If we can keep our cemeteries, you know, our history is intact as long as we can take care of our cemeteries,” he said.

The event coordinator and a former Charleston County Council member, Anna Johnson, …