Staff presses ahead on Gullah cultural program as some community members hesitate over staff video

Angie Stone, assistant town manager, updated the Gullah Geechee Land and Cultural Preservation Task Force on Nov. 4 on the town’s Gullah history and cultural-awareness program, saying tours and a Gullah 101 training for staff have been implemented and that a contractor-produced video component is now ready.

"We hired a contractor to produce that video for us back in December '23," Stone said, explaining efforts to recruit participants and recounting early hesitation within the community about the project. She said some residents were reluctant because of prior experiences and concerns about payment and use of images.

Stone told the task force that the town discovered it could not promise that a video used in employee orientation would not be shared beyond town staff under the Freedom of Information Act, a point she said affected willingness to participate: "there was no way to promise the participants that that video would not be shared beyond town staff."

Stone described two other program components — quarterly Gullah tours and the Gullah 101 course — as implemented and said the video was intended primarily as an orientation tool for town staff rather than for broad public distribution. She said the contractor and staff continue outreach to secure participation and that the program remains focused on honoring and preserving local history.

Task-force members and community representatives praised the program’s progress while urging sensitivity and clarity about record use. A community member said the committee must "make sure that we understand what's going on" and asked staff to be transparent about storage, consent, and how recorded material will be used. The chair and Stone said they will continue conversations and outreach to invite key community elders and to explore alternative ways to preserve and present history if some individuals decline to appear on video.

Stone and other task-force members noted that some archival footage already exists and that the town will look at cultural-preservation approaches beyond the orientation video, including work with the office of cultural affairs and the community development corporation. She emphasized the program’s intent: "It is to honor the culture and the history that's here."

The task force did not take formal action on the video at the Nov. 4 session; staff said they will continue direct outreach to the community and report back to the task force on progress and any changes to the intended use or access controls for recorded material.