The core of my Gullah/Geechee identity is survival

[thelakelander]

A guest article that highlights the negative impacts of highway construction and development on Northeast Florida's Gullah/Geechee community and the fight to survive.

Read More: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/the-core-of-my-gullahgeechee-identity-is-survival/

[Charles Hunter]

Great essay, and heartbreaking.

A similar tale could be told about the Cosmo community, just a few miles from my house. The state, through JTA, widened two-lane McCormick Road to a four-lane divided highway to create the "Wonderwood" connection between I-295 and the Mayport / North Beaches / East Arlington area. Residential developers have been buying properties from Cosmo residents for decades to create subdivisions that look like every other subdivision.

I hope that, now that the Gullah/Geechee are recognized as an ethnic community, it will affect government decisions on acquiring property for public works, and in land development.