Cora Miller sings and tells these stories . With a choir of birds chirping above , she starts a tour by singing a spiritual . After the song , she recounts stories of people growing crops and fishing for themselves for the first time , of families whose homes had wooden floors instead of the ground for the first time . She talks about children who were forbidden to read now getting the reverse – mandatory education – and of churches where people gave thanks for their newfound freedom . |
Omolola Campbell grew up just seven miles away , but adults avoided talking about Mitchelville when she was a child .
“ When they thought about Mitchelville , they thought about slavery ,” said Campbell , an attorney who serves as board chair of Historic Mitchelville . Campbell is a proud sixth-generation native islander and member of the Gullah Geechee community . “ People didn ’ t want to talk about slavery . But slavery isn ’ t the story of Mitchelville . Not at all . The story of Mitchelville is about coming out of slavery to freedom . It ’ s a story that needs to be told ,” Campbell says .
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Historic Mitchelville is working to deepen the storytelling by expanding the park by building more structures . “ All of us here on Hilton Head , especially native islanders , don ’ t want our Gullah culture to be lost , and Mitchelville is the beginning of that ,” she said . “ Almost every one of our families here has an ancestor who probably lived in Mitchelville , and we can ’ t afford to lose the history of Mitchelville , which is part of the history of America .”
Led by its executive director , Ahmad Ward , Historic Mitchelville has big expansion plans . Last year , the Mellon Foundation provided a $ 2.5 million grant to support the development of a plaza , classroom / lab , exhibits and infrastructure in an interpretative center .
Joyce Wright , director of programs at Historic Mitchelville , said the organization also is raising funds for additional structures to share why the 19th century community is relevant now .
“ We want to make sure that Mitchelville is vibrant enough to continue to survive , to be sustainable , and one important thing is that people must have an opportunity to visit
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General Ormsby Mitchel
the past but not get stuck in the past ,” says Wright . “ We recognize the importance of the story . We can ’ t just stay there because what happened in Mitchelville matters today .”
Wright hopes more of Hilton Head ’ s 2.5 million annual visitors will discover Mitchelville and its history . “ We have more than beaches and golf courses and tennis courts ,” she said . “ This is the thing that should attract people when they visit Hilton Head .” n
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Norris West is a freelance writer who retired in early 2024 from a long career in journalism and philanthropic communications . He and his wife split their time between Maryland and Georgia . |
( U . S . Library of Congress ) |
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( Photos by : Norris P . West ) |
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Cora Miller |
Omalola Campbell |
Joyce Wright |
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