As visitors were leaving Sepalo island’s annual Cultural Day, which celebrates the Gullah Geechee community’s heritage, a ferry dock on Sapelo Island collapsed on Saturday afternoon.
The collapse killed seven and left others injured.
Dock collapse on Sapelo Island
About 700 visitors were in attendance at Sapelo Island, about 60 miles south of Savannah, before the collapse which tragically killed seven people and left three in critical condition.
According to state officials, the collapse on Oct. 19 was due to a “catastrophic failure” of the gangway.
What is the Gullah Geechee history on Sapelo Island?
The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of African Americans who were enslaved on plantations along the lower Atlantic coasts.
Many came from West Africa’s rice-growing regions. Their isolation on these plantations led to the development of a unique culture with strong African influences, visible in their arts, crafts, food, music, and language.
Gullah Geechee is a creole language spoken in coastal areas of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It developed as a way for people from diverse backgrounds, including European slave traders, slave owners, and various African ethnic groups, to communicate.
The language combines elements from African and European languages and has influences in Southern vocabulary and speech patterns.
The Gullah Geechee Cultural Day is an annual event on Sapelo Island that honors this rich culture.
Savannah Morning News reporter John Deem contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: More about the Gullah Geechee history following dock collapse
