HEADS UP! Please support the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Protection Overlay District Fw: St. Helena needs your voice again!

[Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition]

Peace All!

I pray that you are enjoying the Holy Days season.  We all were too until we received notification that the one Beaufort County Councilman-Logan Cunningham-who is now running for Nancy Mace's seat in Washington, DC decided to bring a vote that was already 10-1 (of course he was the 1) back before Beaufort County Council AGAIN!  He is attempting to convince the rest of the members of Beaufort County Council to reverse their votes to continue to uphold every aspect of the St. Helena Island Cultural Protection Overlay District and to deny any text and/or map changes.  

Pine Island and St. Helenaville are on the National Register of Historic Places and have always been rural farmland and hunting areas of St. Helena.  Now. someone has already started the process to build several homes there instead of leaving it open space and salt marsh with only a few historic cottages.  They have a fence up to block folks from going across the causeway the way that St. Helena folks have done for generations and they want to make that a gated area with a golf course.  The Cultural Protection Overlay District does NOT permit gated areas, resorts or golf courses within the CPO.  The CPO was designed to protect the epicenter of Gullah/Geechee culture.  So, we are thankful that the majority of the Beaufort County Council stood firm and united on  this matter two months ago when Beaufort County residents and people that love native Gullah/Geechee culture came out and sat through a marathon Beaufort County Council meeting. (I left St. Helena at 2 pm that day to get to Burton Wells and I left Burton Wells at 2 am after the voting was concluded.)  This was the longest county council meeting with the most attendees in history!  The second most attended was when we fought to protect Bay Point in the midst of the COVID pandemic.  (We were there from 5 pm until 10 pm in that case.). It is obvious that people love St. Helena Island's CPO as it is and the law needs to remain as it is!

Please click the link in the alert from the attorneys for the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition in the message below and write to Beaufort County Council members to let them know that you appreciate what they did in September and over the past few years.  Tell them that you want them to vote to continue to uphold the CPO in its entirety on Monday.  If you can come and speak in person, please meet us EARLY at the meeting at the newly renovated Beaufort County Council Chambers 100 Ribaut Road in Beaufort, SC.  (You probably have it memorized since we have been fighting this battle for three years and will go into another year with people attempting to destroy Gullah/Geechee cultural heritage.  SMH!)  The meeting begins at 6 pm but space will be limited.  Hunnuh kno we da binya doe!  We ain gwine nowhey!

I look forward to seeing you on Monday before 6 pm in Beaufort County.

Peace,

Queen Quet

Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation

Founder, Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition

Webe Gullah/Geechee Anointed Peepol! Lun mo bout who webe www.gullahgeecheenation.com

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: Jessie White <jes...@scelp.org>

To: Marquetta L. Goodwine <gull...@aol.com>

Sent: Friday, December 5, 2025 at 08:22:56 AM EST

Subject: St. Helena needs your voice again!

Dear Queen Quet,    More than 500 people packed the room in September, many staying until 2 o’clock in the morning, to defend St. Helena Island, and your voices made a difference. After several hours of extensive public testimony, Beaufort County Council voted 10–1 to deny the Pine Island development agreement for a gated golf resort – a clear affirmation of the island’s Cultural Protection Overlay (CPO) zoning and the community it was created to protect.   Now, that hard-won vote is at risk of being undone.   Beaufort County Council will meet on Monday, December 8, at 6:00 PM, and we expect a motion to rescind the September vote will be considered . The one council member who voted in support of the Pine Island development is attempting to use a procedural technicality to throw out the overwhelming decision made just weeks ago.   This maneuver raises real questions. If decisions can be reversed on the whim of a single council member at any time, how can communities trust the process? How can we ensure the landscapes and cultural heritage we fight to protect are given the certainty they deserve?   It's time to show up – again. If you can be there in person, your presence matters.  Monday, December 8 6:00 PM (arrive early!) 100 Ribaut Rd. If you can't attend, please email or call your Council member and urge them to stand by their original vote and continue to support St. Helena's CPO. St. Helena and the larger community have been clear and consistent at every juncture for the past 3+ years: a gated golf resort has no place on the island. We have resisted this kind of pressure before – and with a united community, we'll do it again. SCELP is the legal muscle protecting South Carolina’s natural systems. Fiercely passionate and steadfast, we work to defend our land, water and communities from irreversible harm, address past wrongs, and promote systemic change. Founded in 1987 to confront the state’s most alarming environmental threats, we remain the only nonprofit environmental law firm dedicated solely to South Carolina — providing legal support from the mountains to the marshes. Support Our Work Our Contact Information South Carolina Environmental Law Project PO Box 1380 Pawleys Island, SC 29585 843-527-0078 http://scelp.org