The Gullah Geechee community is made up of over 1 million people along the coast.
The Gullah Geechee community, which is spread between Jacksonville, North Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida, is at risk of losing its ancestral homeland due to water pollution, increased storm surge, and disruptive climate impacts.
“It’s a very unique community that has its dialect and maintained a certain type of connection to nature, the land, and the water.” The resiliency manager at the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor and descendent of the ancestral Gullah Geechee lineage, Erica Xavier-Beauvior, added, “There is a lot of spirituality that is embedded into this community that isn’t found in mainstream ways of society.”
According to NASA, it will only get worse. As the climate crisis progresses, sea levels are rising much faster in the Southeast part of the United States. The Gullah Geechee people living along the corridor of their ancestral homeland are faced with rallying for help with restoration or committing to relocating from their sacred homeland.
“Our stance is, you are a sovereign being that knows you belong to the coastline and have the option to leave if you wish,” Xavier-Beauvior said.
“I have seen buyouts and collaborations with counties, but when it comes to accepting these offers, we also need to think about what information is provided so that people know what they are giving up.”
RELATED CONTENT: The Gullah-Geechee Community Is Fighting To Protect Their Land From Gentrifiers In South Carolina
Source: Black Enterprise
