Fresh seafood, a beautiful setting, demonstrations of the traditional Sea Island art of sweet grass basket making, and an inspirational message all made for a memorable evening on Johns Island for REWG participants.

The South Carolina Rural Education Grassroots Committee, which hosted REWG, arranged for the evening's activities, held at Rural Mission on the island.

Linda Gadson, Executive Director of Rural Mission, welcomed the group by singing several songs and sharing some of Johns Island's history.

The evening was capped off with a demonstration by Vera Manigault of the traditional Sea Island art of basket weaving using sweet grass and other indigenous fibers. Manigault is recognized as one of the premier practitioners of the art and has introduced a variety of innovative techniques. She laced her demonstration with stories and jokes and peppered it with Gullah words and phrases. Gullah (also known as Geechee) is the indigenous language of the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia and is a mix of African languages and English.

The evening provided a moving and enjoyable introduction to a rural place that has made important contributions to the nation.

About Johns Island's History   

In the 1950s and 60s, residents of Johns Island, South Carolina provided seminal organizing vision and long-term support to what is now known as the American Civil Rights Movement.

It was on rural Johns Island that Bernice Robinson, Esau Jenkins, and Septima Clark, among others, first organized Citizenship Schools. These informal community-based and community-led schools helped African-American adults gain the literacy skills they needed to pass South Carolina's literacy test, which was required in order to vote.  As in other southern states, literacy requirements, such as reading a passage of the constitution, were one of the mechanisms used explicitly to deny voting rights to African-Americans.

The Citizenship Schools were held in community buildings and churches and other accessible locations, usually through an existing community organization. Where none existed, an organization was formed to sponsor the schools. Instruction emphasized ways students and teachers could learn from each other.

The schools not only helped people learn to read. They also proved to be effective at helping communities organize themselves for collective action. The schools were soon started on other coastal islands and later emulated in other southern rural communities.

John's Island Today

Johns Island is the largest of the Sea Islands, a string of islands along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts. The islands are historically rural and have been populated primarily by African Americans who made a living mainly through fishing and farming. The culture and language of the Sea Islands is closely linked to the west coast of Africa and Sea Island arts and cuisine are celebrated around the world. 

Today the islands are under tremendous development pressure. African-American residents, in particular, face uncompromising demands to prove they own the land their families have lived on and cared for over generations. Residents must meet skyrocketing property taxes and deal with the onslaught of real estate developers intent on gating much of the land into expensive housing and condominium enclaves. 

Rural Mission

Rural Mission is an ecumenical non-profit organization, formed in 1969, that provides a variety of human services to low-income residents of the Sea Islands. In addition to other programs, it provides emergency food services, advocacy and counseling, home improvement, a program to collect and distribute firewood to low-income homes, and Head Start for migrant workers. Rural Mission has fostered other important programs as well, including the Sea Island Comprehensive Health Care Corporation and the Johns Island Rural Housing Project.   

Today Rural Mission's property provides some of the only remaining access to the water for many Johns Island residents. Such access is essential for fishing, recreation, and gathering sweet grass and other fibers for basket making. 

Learn more about Rural Mission.