On Sapelo Island, two young graduates have teamed up with Maurice Bailey and the Gullah Geechee people of the region to raise money and awareness for the environmental and existential plight it faces.
Largest Preservation Fund in American History Invests $3M to Save Black Landmarks essence.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from essence.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The top leader of a fund that was created to preserve African American landmarks, says he hopes that the nation understands the connection between architecture and racial justice, as well as the importance of telling a fuller story.
Brent Leggs, the executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, was a guest on Thursday’s edition of “Closer Look.”
He talked with show host Rose Scott about the history and mission of the fund and a new grant that will help preserve several Black landmarks across the nation.
“We are announcing $3 million in 40 projects and about $300,000 of that is supporting five projects in Georgia,” explained Leggs.
SAPELO SOJOURN For two centuries the Geechees have farmed this land, fished the seas and gathered crabs and oysters in the marshes. They have buried their ancestors here and believed in the healing power of its soils. Yvonne Grovner still makes her sweet grass baskets. Maurice Bailey still throws his cast nets into the marshland. Mildred and John Teal describe their admiration and beauty for the land in Portrait of an Island. I, too, walked the desolate, pristine beaches and spent hours hidden in the boughs of a Georgia live oak, but I believe it cannot be truly appreciated until one learns about how it has and continues to shape the lives of the Geechee people.