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Archives For November 30, 1999

CSSC at the Reburial

By Julia Eichelberger
Posted on 15 August 2019 | 4:33 am — 

The Social Justice Committee of CSSC hosted the start of the May 9 Gullah Society procession on the C of C campus, in Barnet Courtyard.

Cards were inscribed with messages that were then buried with the ancestors.

C of C faculty in academic regalia joined city officials, Gullah society members, schoolchildren, and other community members in a procession down George Street to the Gaillard Complex.

Gullah Society President and founder Ade Ofunniyin, walking with the Mayor of Charleston, escorted the coffins to their final resting place. Dr. Ofuniyyin teaches African and African American studies at the College of Charleston.

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenberg and CofC’s Dr. Ade Ofunniyin escorting the coffins

The program was designed by Ms. Joanna Gilmore, a Gullah Society staff member who also teaches at C of C. It included an essay by C of C professor of architectural history Dr. Nathaniel Walker and another essay by CSSC director and emeritus history professor Dr. Bernard Powers. Among the speakers during the ceremony was Dr. Kameelah Martin, chair of C of C’s African American Studies department and a member of CSSC’s Executive Board.

More coverage from the Post & Courier.

 

Op-Ed: Honoring Charleston’s Ancestors

By Julia Eichelberger
Posted on 15 August 2019 | 4:32 am — 

This op-ed reflects on the significance of the May 9 event honoring those ancestors whose labor contributed so much to Charleston. Written by Julia Eichelberger, CSSC Executive Board member and director of the Program in Southern Studies.

Read op-ed on Southern Studies program blog, Studying the South

Read on Post and Courier website

https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/commentary/commentary-honoring-charleston-s-ancestors/article_d0bf5854-6c48-11e9-a4a6-cf9ed406c0c3.html

handwritten message to the ancestors from Julia Eichelberger

Charleston residents have been invited to write messages to be buried with the ancestors on May 4.

Screenshot of Post & Courier op-ed May 3 2019

“Rise Up” Event Reveals DNA Results

By Julia Eichelberger
Posted on 14 August 2019 | 5:30 pm — 

On Feb. 27, 2019, CSSC took part in the Gullah Society’s “Rise Up” event at the Cannon Street Art Center, where numerous Charleston residents received the results of the analysis of their DNA conducted by the same research team that has been analyzing the remains of African and African-descended people in a burial ground discovered under the Gaillard Auditorium complex. 

Community members were thrilled to receive their DNA test results suggesting who their ancestors were and what parts of the world they came from.

 

 
Additional coverage from The Post & Courier:

https://www.postandcourier.com/multimedia/local-african-americans-receive-dna-test-results-as-part-of/collection_a368138e-3afa-11e9-97ab-231d3bf15811.html

 

 

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/the-dead-have-been-woke-plans-shaping-up-to-reinter/article_9972ea00-3912-11e9-9cc8-f3cef799f75e.html

 

The Ancestors’ Remains

By Julia Eichelberger
Posted on 14 August 2019 | 5:23 pm — 

After the remains of 36 African and African-descended people were discovered near the Gaillard Auditorium during renovations in 2013, The Gullah Society worked with city officials to study the remains and decide how they should be honorably reinterred. 

DNA and isotope analysis established that these individuals were all of African descent. This research, conducted with scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and C of C student Yemi Udowole, was supported by a National Geographic Society grant. 

Students in Nathaniel Walker’s Architecture of Memory course imagined designs for a memorial honoring the individuals in this burial ground.

The Center for the Study of Slavery was honored to support and participate in events in which research was discussed with community members and the students’ proposed designs were displayed.  One event, “Rise Up,” was held on campus in Randolph Hall on November 7, 2018.

Read the story in The College Today

Student Exhibit Explores Proposed Memorials to Honor Remains

More from The Post & Courier.
https://www.postandcourier.com/news/what-sort-of-monument-would-best-honor-african-americans-buried/article_c6a2ff54-f70b-11e8-a587-bf4780d4f3ac.html

 

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