NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – The Sapelo Island incident sent sound waves from Georgia to Charleston and also through other countries to the Igala Kingdom in Nigeria.

The North Charleston Community Resource Center is making a donation in memory of those who died in the Sapelo Island incident a week ago.

“When they fell off that board, they didn’t stand a chance,” said Community Resource Center Executive Director Louis Smith.

On Culture Day 2024, a Gullah Geechee celebration, a pier collapsed, sending 20 people into the water and killing seven; These were all elders of the community:

-Carlotta McIntosh

-Charles Houston

-Queen Welch

-William Johnson Jr.

-Isaiah Thomas

-Cynthia Gobbs

-Jacqueline Crews Carter

“These elders did not die in vain. They were truly loved, not only by their families, but by the culture at large, Smith said.

The resource center returned school supplies and food items to those in the community because Smith says humanity is a part of their culture.

Lori Johnson, the local representative of the Igala Kingdom in Nigeria, also spoke on behalf of the king and the ambassador this evening.

“No matter where we are, we are one. We are definitely a family. “And no matter what happens to anyone anywhere, no matter where, we are all this Gullah family,” Johnson said.

He said he wanted to educate people about their history as if they were growing up.

Although he was born in New York, his parents and grandparents were from the Lowcountry, so he spent his summers learning how to embrace the Gullah Geechee culture.

“We know that the Sapelo Seven will do whatever they can to open the eyes of our people. And not just our people, but anyone who wants to learn, who wants to learn about the Gullah community,” Johnson said.

His hope for this comeback is to allow others to take pride in where they came from, knowing the weight and history it carries.

“That’s the culture of the Gullah people: helping each other, giving and strengthening each other,” Johnson said.

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