Brookgreen Gardens will collect living history narratives about Gullah Geechee community members of Sandy Island, Plantersville, and Murrells Inlet that will be dramatized and complemented with digital elements. The completed narratives will be made available to the public through performances to guests as well as through audio and video excerpts online through the “Seen, Heard, Esteemed: Living History Narratives of Georgetown County” project. SC Humanities supported these efforts with a Major Grant.
On Saturday, June 19, 2021, in recognition of Juneteenth, presentations of “Seen, Heard, Esteemed: Living History Narratives of Georgetown County” will be shared to pay homage to freedom. The program will include a brief talk about “The Sensibilities of Freedom,” remarks about “Lessons Learned About Freedom” from Coastal Carolina University students and staff who conducted research for the project, and an introduction of the “Seen, Heard, and Esteemed” program. The presentations will take place at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Previously, administrators and students of the Coastal Carolina University’s Athenaeum Press and Joyner Institute for Gullah and African Diaspora Studies programs discussed the research projects conducted throughout the Lowcountry to create “Seen, Heard, Esteemed: Living History Narratives of Georgetown County” in a program on Saturday, January 16, 2021. Eric Crawford, Ph.D. and Alli Crandell, M.S., CCU led the presentation at the Wall Lowcountry Center Auditorium at Brookgreen Gardens.
The collected living history narratives will continue to be presented through VR and web-based immersive experiences at Brookgreen Gardens in 2021. The digital experiences will also be included in the Gullah Geechee Digital Project, supported by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. More information about these opportunities will be available soon.
Brookgreen Gardens is a unique melding of art, nature, and history. It is one of the few institutions in the United States to earn accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, as well as being designated a National Historic Landmark and being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Learn more: https://www.brookgreen.org/.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 20-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.
