Lowcountry community pays tribute to Gullah Geechee members

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – The Sapelo Island incident sent sound waves from Georgia here to Charleston and through other countries to the Igala Kingdom in Nigeria.

The North Charleston Community Resource Center is paying tribute to those who lost their lives in the Sapelo Island incident a week ago.

“When they fell off that board, they didn’t stand a chance,” said Community Resource Center Executive Director Louis Smith.

During Culture Day 2024, which is a Gullah Geechee celebration, 20 people went into the water after a pier collapsed and seven died – all of them community elders:

-Carlotta Mackintosh

-Charles Houston

-Queen Welch

-William Johnson Jr.

-Isaiah Thomas

-Cynthia Hobbes

-Jacqueline Crews Carter

“These elders did not die in vain. They were truly loved, not only by their families, but by the entire culture,” Smith said.

The resource center returned school supplies and food to community residents because Smith says humanity is part of their culture.

The local representative of the Igala Kingdom of Nigeria, Laurie Johnson, also spoke on behalf of the King and Ambassador this evening.

“Wherever we are, we are united. We are absolutely one family. And no matter what happens to anyone, anywhere, no matter where they are, it’s all of us, the Gull family,” Johnson said.

She said she wanted to tell people about their story as it would have been when she was growing up.

Although she was born in New York, her parents and grandparents were from the Lowcountry, so she spent her summers learning how to embrace the Gullah Geechee culture.

“We know that the Sapelo Seven will do everything they can to help our people open their eyes. And not just our people, but anyone who wants to know, who wants to know about the Gullah community,” Johnson said.

Her hope for this giveback is to allow others to be proud of where they come from, knowing the weight and history it carries.

“And that’s the culture of the Gullah people – helping each other, giving and strengthening each other,” Johnson said.