| St. Helena Island, just off the coast of Beaufort, is steeped in African American history. It is the site where slavery was first introduced in the original 13 American colonies. It is home to Penn Center, a nationally recognized historic landmark that once served as a retreat for civil rights groups. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made the initial plans for his historic march on Washington while staying there. St. Helena is the last authentic African American community in the country because its residents still retain the language and culture of their West African heritage, which we now refer to as Gullah.
Forty-seven of those slave descendents had the foresight in 1920 to purchase the old Baker Plantation on St. Helena Island. Their intent was to protect their land and preserve their culture. They went to great lengths to protect their 328 acres. In 1994, they sued themselves to turn the property over to a nonprofit corporation called Lands End Woodland Club in order to keep developers from using unscrupulous methods to acquire the land.
I have talked often about the legal device called partitioning, which is used to rob blacks of their property. These tactics are employed when property owners die without wills and the land is passed on to their heirs with unclear deeds. So if a buyer can convince just one of the heirs to sell his or her share, the buyer can file a legal partition and gain title to the entire parcel. I understand that now legal partition has ever failed in South Carolina.
I applaud the efforts of the Lands End Woodland Club, who knew the dangers of partitioning and took the necessary action to insure the deed was clear. A court awarded the club the property’s full title in 1996. Despite their foresight and extensive efforts to see the land remains intact, they now face a formidable legal challenge from media mogul Ted Turner, who claims to own 68 acres of the club’s land.
Although the original document that details the Lands End property boundaries still exists, it was never officially filed, and it now seems that some of the parcel overlap with property Mr. Turner subsequently purchased.
Unfortunately, it appears that once again the legal system will be used to deprive blacks of their rightful ownership. This is happening to slave descendants throughout the South. As the land is lost, so too is the Gullah culture that once dominated these islands. I have secured federal funding for the National Parks Service to study ways to prevent future loss of this important cultural heritage. However, that report due out this year, will focus on preservation and not legal reforms that are necessary to prevent this situation on St. Helena Island.
There is an underlying irony that this dispute takes place in the shadow of Penn Center that has collected more than two-thousand cases of land takings from blacks. Penn Center is where blacks gathered seeking refuge from the tensions of the 60’s. This is the place where the Gullah culture could thrive because its purveyors lived without any pressure to assimilate for generations. This is the place whose history was so intertwined with its people that 47 descendents of slaves sought to protect it in its natural state for eternity.
It is heart wrenching to know the very legal system charged with protecting the rights of all Americans is being used to strip blacks of their rightful property ownership. If allowed to continue, the rich history and heritage that makes St. Helena so unique may be lost to future generations.
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U.S. Congressman 
