(This is the third in a series of articles about East Cooper Community Outreach's Out of Poverty initiative).

The Seven Mile Community in Mount Pleasant sits smack dab in the middle of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.

Designated by Congress in 2006, the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor extends from Wilmington, N.C. in the north to Jacksonville, Fla. in the south. It is home to one of America's most unique cultures, a tradition first shaped by captive Africans brought to the southern United States from West Africa and continued in later generations by their descendents.

The community is also nestled along Hwy. 17 in Mount Pleasant and constantly must steel itself against development, change and road expansion.

However, according to Michael Allen, local historian and educator with the National Park Services, the community has held strong, positioning themselves for proper negotiation with municipal, state and federal agencies in an effort to preserve their livelihoods and culture.

He has worked closely with residents in Seven Mile and all along the heritage corridor.

"All of the communities over here face challenges of preserving the land, history and culture and for any of them basketry is a signature part of their existence," Allen said.

Change is inevitable, but residents of this small community are demanding that change come in a way that is sensitive to their needs, he explained.

For example, the Town of Mount Pleasant plans to widen Hwy. 17 from the Isle of Palms Connector to U.S. Hwy. 41.

The impact on the Sweetgrass Basket Stands could have been devastating had officials not worked closely with residents there.

"Town officials got in contact with every basket stand owner in the affected area and the new road configuration will protect and preserve as many of the stands as possible and those impacted will be mitigated," Allen said.

"There have been some heartaches to get us to this point but ECCO is now coming into this conversation of preserving the value of these settlement communities."

In addition, with the establishment of ECCO's Communities Organized to Realize Excellence (C.O.R.E.) the group is looking at what has brought the residents of these settlement communities to ECCO's doorstep and the challenges and circumstances they have gone through and heartaches and pain they have endured.

"Those are fundamental things that have to be addressed and looked at now," said. Allen, who explained that this is exactly in line with the Heritage Corridor's mission to protect, preserve, interpret, and work with community organizations.

"As a day to day person for the corridor, I am presented with things and circumstances that are happening where people are looking for solutions, help and understanding. In working with C.O.R.E, we're analyzing how to bring people together to look at the landscape of the whole corridor because the same things that are happening here are indicative of what is happening across the corridor and ECCO could lead a challenge to organize other social organizations and do a symposium to look at how they could work cooperatively."
Allen, who has worked for 30 years with National Park Service, said his career has allowed him the opportunity to know the issues and have his finger on the pulse of what's happening and biggest challenges these communities are facing.
Allen said that a playground in Seven Mile was recently upgraded "which galvanize the younger folks in being more responsible and it gives them a sense of history, who they are and where they are."
Allen said, "we take bench mark issues like road expansion and educational changes and try to determine how to creatively handle, address or solve them if possible," he said.
Historically Seven Mile community members have passed down basket making from generation to generation.
There are challenges in passing this historic craft down to younger generations because of the lack of access to the raw materials needed. But Allen has seen some victories in their struggles such as Mount Pleasant Waterworks providing opportunities for people to grow and collect grass.
"In a broader context, Seven Mile is just one of many freedman communities established post Civil War. Research indicates many of the same families still live there and partake in basket trade today. C.O.R.E will help establish a fundamental understanding of the culture of the people they are serving and better understand their feelings about living in Mount Pleasant in the 21 century," Allen said.
"Things are flowing somewhat better east of the Cooper. You have to look at some of the victories and decisions that have been made and the fact everyone had made a good faith effort to do the best thing for these communities."
According to research done by community representative Sheila German, the Seven Mile community is marked on the southern border by Christ Church and runs north to Porcher's Bluff, between Route 17 and Rifle Range Road. There are approximately 200 homes in the community. It is hard to know the economic parameters of the community, since most people seem to "get by" and do so proudly. They have access to county water, but do not have sewage. Most residents attend Greater Goodwill AME or the Garden of Prayer churches.
German feels the community would benefit from increased community support and participation, but noted that it was getting more and more difficult to do so. She also values the cultural heritage of sweetgrass basket making, but worries about the economic viability of the community, particularly with the widening of Hwy. 17 and the curb-side barriers to basket stands that might come with increased development.

(Sully Witte can be reached at editor@moultrienews.com.)