The Wonder of White Butterflies

“Historical Study Tour of Sierra Leone” (#9 of 9)

Fellow St. Helenian Natasha Robinson, who traveled with Anita Prather and the Gullah Kinfolk, spoke about the magic of seeing white butterflies through the window on the boat ride to Bunce Island.  She’d just remembered hearing her deceased grandmother talk about them – how beautiful they were and her excitement about seeing them.  And there they were!  As though it was in a dream, white butterflies hovered about the Bunce Island boat landing and around Bunce Island throughout our visit. Natasha credited their appearance as a reminder of ancestral spirits who lead and guide us.

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I’m grateful to God, the ancestors, Brookgreen Gardens, and the SC Arts Commission that I was able to participate – and with my family – on this momentous journey. I plan to utilize the information gained and contacts made during the Study Tour to further historical interpretation at Brookgreen Gardens. A few others shared how the trip impacted them and their follow-up plans.

Antoinette Dunham, of Savannah, GA, said she gained an awareness of how the system uses people to destroy others mentally. “I’ve been to Haiti.  They also have big stacks of money (currency) – that are useless!  I hope every Black American will do an African DNA test and find out who they really are and not who they’ve been told they should be.”

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Veronica Gerald, of Conway, said, “I think this trip should be offered as a teacher institute for public school teachers.  Those who go into the schools need to know what we learned so that students can know the importance of their history, their heritage.” Her grandson Deon Turner, a senior at USC-Aiken, said, “The main thing I’ll bring back to the U.S. is a new level of greatness and appreciation of the blessings we have in America but take for granted.  I have a new outlook on life and will do less complaining. The awareness of being there – where our ancestors came from – I think it’ll shape my life!”

Simeon Daise, of Atlanta, GA, said, “I learned to be smarter in my movements, in my finances, in what I choose to focus my attention and energies and awareness on. Just seeing the immense level of poverty there, I have a clearer understanding that you can have an abundance with less.”

Husband-and-wife Leon and Antoinette Relaford, of Goldsboro, NC, plan to launch a business.  “We’ve seen some things that compel us. Owning real estate will be a way to bring economic growth to the local economy and help local Sierra Leonean investment,” Leon said. Antoinette added, “We also plan to act as a gateway for Sierra Leonean students coming to colleges in the United States.”

Sara Makeba Daise, of Georgetown, SC, said the trip confirmed her decision to pursue a Ph.D. “I want to study the connections with Sierra Leonean women and Gullah Geechee women. Such a study will advance the understanding of epigenetic trauma and healing.”

William Relaford, of Riceboro, GA, said he’s going to share what he saw and learned with others.  “I just can’t just go home and forget about it.” His wife Cynthia added, “It brought me back to my childhood in Riceboro.  I have a dance troupe, and I’m thinking of teaching my students all the dances I saw the people doing in the villages.”

 “I returned with a lot of art (ideas) in my head,” said Natalie Daise, of Georgetown, SC. “I have lots of paintings I want to do, more rice mosaics. I’ve been combining the Sierra Leonean story of warriors who wore magic armor during the country’s civil war with the Gullah Geechee story I tell about ‘The People Could Fly.’  My gratitude is profound!”

Victoria Smalls, of St. Helena Island, said, “My Number One purpose was to come and assess the tour and plan similar trips that would be sponsored by Penn Center. I would like more Gullah artists to experience their cultural roots there.” A trip is planned for December 27, 2020 – January 4, 2021. For more info, send an email to her here.

Tour participants presented information about the experience during a panel discussion at the International Gullah and African Disapora Conference at Coastal Carolina University on Thursday, March 5, 2020.

At each follow-up program activity, may the wonder of white butterflies prevail!

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