May 2, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 72 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S2604-S2605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE GULLAH SOCIETY'S ANCESTRAL REBURIAL CEREMONY

 Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. President, today I would like 
to commemorate and recognize a weekend-long event happening in a place 
I hold very near and dear to my heart, my hometown, Charleston, SC. In 
2013, 36 bodies were discovered and unearthed near Anson Street in 
downtown Charleston. After years of further historical, archeological 
and DNA analysis research, we have learned much more about the stories 
of these men, women, and children.
  Buried between 1750 and 1800, these people of African descent--some 
born in Africa, others born in South Carolina--most likely were 
enslaved individuals who helped build the nearby port of Charleston. 
This weekend, 6 years after unearthing these individuals and more than 
250 years after they were buried, the Gullah Society and the Charleston 
community are coming together to hold a naming ceremony, official 
release of DNA ancestry results, a reburial ceremony, and an ecumenical 
service.
  It is the hope of the Gullah Society, a hope shared with myself and 
many fellow Charlestonians, that we lay these individuals to rest the 
proper way, as well as remember, celebrate, and honor them. While we 
recognize these 36 ancestral sons and daughters of South Carolina, we 
also will have a chance to remember all others whose graves have been 
lost and all others

[[Page S2605]]

upon whose backs Charleston was built.
  While Charleston's past is certainly complicated, I believe events 
like this serve to inspire us all to create a future of greater 
reconciliation, truth telling, equality, and healing in our shared 
community. I thank the Gullah Society and all individuals who helped 
create or participated in this project, as I believe they do so for the 
true benefit and education of us all.

                          ____________________