christic@labrea.Stanford.EDU (06/08/91)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - /* Written 5:54 pm Jun 7, 1991 by christic in cdp:christic.news */ /* ---------- "UPDATE: BLACK CEMETERY DESECRATION" ---------- */ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ====================================================== DAUFUSKIE ISLAND: LIVING IN A `MILLIONAIRE'S PARADISE' ====================================================== Convergence Magazine, Christic Institute, Summer 1991 ``I lived with my grandmother, grew up on Hilton Head and I started working when I was in the tenth grade. Living was good for us there. In those days we made money and everyone got a fair share. I moved away and when I came back to the island, everything had changed. To live in this millionaire's paradise, we have to work two or more jobs just to barely make ends meet.'' --Fifth generation native of Hilton Head Island, Doris Grant Developers have failed to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the desecration of an African American burial ground on Daufuskie Island, S.C. The suit, filed by Christic Institute South on behalf of the island's historic black community, aims to protect the sanctity of the cemetery and the community's ancient burial traditions. Washington Post writer Lynne Duke describes the dispute between developers and islanders: ``Some residents say the divisions are in part racial. Before development, Daufuskie was and had been for generations mostly black. Others say the island's problems are the natural result of the old clashing with the new. Still others say years of neglect by Beaufort County left the island culture ill suited to easily absorb the sudden shock of development that county planners say could push the population from 160 today to 10,000 in three decades.'' Christic Institute South Director Lewis Pitts says that destruction of graveyards is one result of the ``New Plantation'' economy now emerging in the low county area of South Carolina. Exclusive resorts rely on the exploitation of black labor, appropriation of black land, and destruction of black communities and culture. ``It used to be indigo, rice or cotton plantations,'' says Pitts. ``Now it's golf, tennis and equestrian plantations.'' Filed in September 1990, the Institute's suit charges developers with trespass and desecration of a cemetery. The goal of the suit is to obtain a court order to move the reception building for a private golf club off the cemetery grounds. While the lawsuit withstood motions for dismissal, Beaufort County Judge Thomas Kemmerlin agreed with developers that pretrial discovery should be limited and ruled that ``riparian rights''--rights to the Cooper River adjacent to the cemetery --were out of bounds. Securing riparian rights is vital to the islanders. Their ancestors, Africans from the Congo and Angola kidnapped by slave traders, buried their dead near waterways to help spirits return to their African homelands across the sea. The plaintiffs charge that the commercial marina constructed across the riverfront constitutes a theft of public lands for private profit. After Judge Kemmerlin called the African American traditional burial customs ``a bunch of junk'' in open court, C.I. South filed papers seeking his removal from the case and a reversal of his earlier actions limiting the scope of the lawsuit. With or without Kemmerlin, the trial is expected to take place next fall. Since the lawsuit was filed in September, plaintiffs have been threatened and harassed. In October developers attempted to seize control of the Daufuskie Island Community Improvement Club, the group spearheading organizing efforts for the island's historic residents. White landowners who had never before attended meetings packed the meeting house, introduced new bylaws and tried to stage elections for new officers. In November Pitts and Christic Institute South attorney Gayle Korotkin were refused passage on the only public boat available for travel to Daufuskie Island. The boat is owned by a resort. Korotkin and Pitts were on their way to the November meeting of the Improvement Club. Recently, developers rerouted tour buses away from the areas where native islanders congregate to sell crafts and food. Many islanders, including several of the plaintiffs, survive on income from the sale of deviled crab cakes and other local delicacies. The plight of the islanders has received national attention. During the last six months, stories have appeared on the front page of the Washington Post, in Newsweek, on NBC's morning feature Trial Watch and, most recently, on CBS 60 Minutes. Two years ago Daufuskie landowner Henrietta Canty, who currently serves in the Georgia State Assembly, examined Daufuskie property tax assessments and found that they were racially discriminatory. Canty confronted the Beaufort County tax assessor with her findings. The assessor claimed the difference was due to an ``agricultural exemption'' granted to white landowners. Canty discovered that tax discrepancies between white and black landowners were forcing many black residents off their land and off the island. Last year, Canty wrote to 60 Minutes producers urging an investigation of the scandal. Representatives of Christic Institute South, native Islanders, developers, county officials and clergy were interviewed for the story which eventually aired on Easter Sunday. Narrated by Morley Safer, the story examined the exorbitant tax increases caused by resort development and described the plight of black islanders who have lost land that was in their families for generations. The show also documented the loss of cemeteries due to irregular and, in some cases, illegal land sales. ``While the story was important because it presented the plight of Daufuskie to the nation, it was not as comprehensive as it should have been,'' says Christic Institute Development Director Czerny Brasuell. CBS did not mention the islanders' grassroots struggle against the developers nor the lawsuit which islanders hope will protect the sanctity of their historic burial ground. As word about the Daufuskie struggle has spread, C.I. South has been asked to help protect other black graveyards on the Sea Islands, including Hilton Head Island and North Charleston. In order to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation, the town of Hilton Head and the Hilton Head Church of God voluntarily initiated discussions with C.I. South and Hilton Head islanders on the centuries-old Amelia White Cemetery. As a result, the cemetery preservation society is recovering lands wrongfully taken from the burial site and the town, which is purchasing land surrounding the cemetery, has made a commitment to safeguard the area from development. In April residents from several Sea Islands met together for the first time to discuss cultural and environmental preservation, community-based economic development and education. For more information write to Christic Institute South, 106 West Parrish Street, 3rd floor, Durham, North Carolina 27701. C.I. South publishes an informative newsletter, People's Advocate. Please urge 60 Minutes to broadcast an update on the islanders' struggle. Send your comments to Melissa Cornick-Horyn, Associate Producer, 60 Minutes, 524 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew Lang 151251507 CHRISTIC telex Christic Institute christic PeaceNet Washington, D.C. tcn tcn449 202-797-8106 voice uunet!pyramid!cdp!christic UUCP 202-529-0140 BBS cdp!christic%labrea@stanford Bitnet 202-462-5138 fax cdp!christic@labrea.stanford.edu Internet