MAN: Many people are surprised when they come over and they say, “Gosh, I didn’t know such a place existed.” It’s a beautiful island. We’ve taken good care of it for over 200 years.

HALL: We are the last Gullah/Geechee, island-based Gullah/Geechee community. Many people do not realize that.

MAN SINGING: and my life is almost gone at the river...

HALL: All of the other island-based Gullah/Geechees are gone. The community is threatened, and we need help to survive.

MAN SINGING: Take my hand precious lord lead me home

MAN: Other communities in the area have been systematically destroyed, the culture have been wiped out in many ways. They have been developed practically out of existence.

JOHNSON: We now are realizing that we have a uniqueness that should be preserved and should be kept as a part of our culture.

THE MCINTOSH COUNTY SHOUTERS:

So sweet, oh, child so sweet, on a Sunday morning

so sweet, and the preacher preach

so sweet, and the choir sings so sweet,

all together so sweet, yes,

indeed so sweet so sweet

make it happy so sweet, oh, yeah s

o sweet so sweet, ah, yeah

so sweet, ah, that religion so sweet,

Sunday morning

so sweet, deacon pray

so sweet, preacher preach

so sweet, choir sing...

HALL: The festival is trying to focus the attention of the public on the island, especially the culture. Oh, that religion, so sweet ah, yeah, so sweet ah, that religion...

HALL: Hopefully, people would think that what they have seen is worth preserving.

JOHNSON: These islands were originally plantation communities. We were descendants of the original slaves that were basically tenders of the slave plantation itself. Hall I remember my great grandmother, she would walk down the aisles in church and burst into song. And she would be reminiscing about her time as a slave. Those songs were unique to Sapelo.

WOMAN: Of all the slaves on this plantation, only john could read. Finally, good news. Here was a letter telling them that they were free. This is the way it went. Read ‘em, john.

THE MCINTOSH COUNTY SHOUTERS:

John brought the letter he laid it up on the table take all the members and read ‘em, oh read ‘em, let me go freedom, john, freedom freedom, tell you freedom, freedom, johnny read ‘em, oh, read ‘em and let me go one by one, two by two three by three and four by four take all the members, read ‘em, boy read ‘em and let me go read ‘em, johnny, read ‘em read ‘em, yeah, yeah, read ‘em read ‘em, john, read ‘em and let me go read ‘em, johnny, read ‘em read ‘em, I tell you, read ‘em read it, johnny read ‘em, oh, read ‘em and let me go

WOMAN: When slavery was abolished, they gave the lands to the blacks. And the slave owners went back wherever they came from.

QUIMBY: All of this land up and down the coast was owned by black people. If we lose it, we don’t have anything.

“Down by the Riverside,” “Wade in the Water,” “Steal away to Jesus,” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” all those songs were created by our ancestors as escape songs on the plantation.

THE GEORGIA SEA ISLAND SINGERS:

Swing low

sweet chariot

coming for to carry me home

swing low

sweet chariot...

QUIMBY: Through the music, we are saying, “this is us, we don’t want it to die.”

THE GEORGIA SEA ISLAND SINGERS:

Why don’t you swing down, sweet chariot stop and let me ride swing down, chariot, stop and let me ride rock me, lord, rock me, lord calm and easy I got a home on the other side why don’t you swing down...

QUIMBY: We want to keep the culture alive. We want the future generations to understand where they come from and how creative and intelligent our ancestors were.

THE GEORGIA SEA ISLAND SINGERS:

Why don’t you swing down, sweet chariot

stop and let me ride swing down, chariot,

stop and let me ride rock me, lord, rock me, lord

calm and easy I’ve got a home on the other side

HALL: We’re a big part of world history. Wars were fought because we were here. And we are isolated. And this isolation has helped us to maintain many of our same customs. And we’re living history. It’s worth preserving. The world can come and have a better appreciation of where we came from. Beulah land Beulah land I’ve got a home in Beulah land Beulah land Beulah land I’ve got a home in Beulah land.

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