(GEORGETOWN/CHARLESTON, SC) – The Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce expresses its appreciation to Carolina Grits Company for removing “Geechee Grits” from their product line “out of respect and understanding for the Gullah Geechee people.”
“We appreciate the response of Carolina Grits company towards our call to end cultural appropriation and for informing us of their actions,” stated Marilyn Hemingway, CEO/President of the Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce, “We look forward to other businesses moving in the right direction on this issue.”
The item has been removed from the Carolina Grits Company website, http://www.carolinagrits.com, and Facebook page. They are working to remove additional retail text regarding this product.
We look forward to encouraging others to partake of the products and services of Carolina Grits Company in Rocky Mount, NC upon completion of the product rebranding and for proactively addressing cultural appropriation.
The Gullah Geechee Chamber has called for the immediate end of cultural appropriation of the Gullah Geechee language, food and cooking traditions, worship experience and artistic expressions for the financial gain of those who cannot or are unwilling to trace lineage to the enslaved, Black persons who built this country through their blood, sweat, and tears of their free labor in the Sea Islands and coastal, inland areas of Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Virginia and those forced to migrate from the above listed geographic areas to seek better economic opportunity.
The Gullah Geechee Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to creating global awareness, profitability, and sustainability of African American businesses and entities that support the Gullah Geechee community.
