美国国家公共电台 NPR--Gullah Geechee community reaches a deal with Ga. county in a fight for services

Gullah Geechee community reaches a deal with Ga. county in a fight for services

Transcript¹

Sapelo Island, sitting off the coast of Georgia, has been home to one of America's last intact Gullah Geechee communities. The Gullah Geechee is a community of descendants of enslaved people who arrived before the start of the Civil War. The island was also the focus of a legal battle between its residents and local and state governments.

The Gullah Geechee community filed a lawsuit² against the state of Georgia and McIntosh County in 2015, complaining that they were neglected, taxed unfairly, and had their civil rights violated. In the suit, the Sapelo Island residents said they've been lacking basic resources like fire or police services and a ferry system that doesn't run enough to link the island and mainland Georgia effectively.

Reginald Hall, one of the descendants who live on Sapelo Island, is an advocate for the community. On Thursday, Hall talked with Morning Edition about the current condition the Gullah Geechee community has been dealing³ with.

"At this very moment, we're on the island at our own risk because we don't have proper emergency services," Hall said.

In addition to the lack of presence from a police or fire department, Hall also says that trash pickup⁴ on the island has been irregular, and old dirt roads have been poorly maintained.

The lack of services has had a devastating⁵ effect on the Gullah Geechee population that lives on Sapelo Island. At the turn of the 20th century, there were nearly 1,000 residents living on Sapelo Island, according to Time magazine. Now only 29 descendants are living on the Island, Hall says.

"There is a clear picture. When you have 29 Black family members left on an island surrounded by marsh⁶ and beautiful ocean," Hall said. "Who in their right mind would purposely get up and leave that land?"

Hall says that people left the island because McIntosh County did not invest much money in essential services for the island, even though Sapelo residents have paid taxes similar to the mainland.

"My question is, when do you stop oppressing?" Hall said. "Let us live."

Recently Hall and other residents of Sapelo Island have received some good news. In 2020, Georgia agreed to improve the docks and passenger ferry service.

Gullah Geechee community also reached a $2 million settlement with McIntosh County. The county has also committed to providing better emergency, medical, fire and road services to the island.

Hall hopes that the settlement and new commitments from both the local and state governments is the start of a bigger vision that Hall has for Sapelo Island.

"Bringing our children back home and our grandchildren back home and to sustain for the next 10 generations as we already have," Hall said.

NPR's Nell Clark and Reena Advani produced and edited this story for radio.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

5 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

6 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。