The Gullah Kinfolk Traveling Theater presents its annual production, Decoration Day, an impactful tribute to the cultural legacy of the Gullah Geechee community. This year, the performance premieres during the 40th Annual Original Gullah Festival in historic Beaufort, South Carolina, with a show scheduled for Saturday, May 24 at 3 p.m. at the University of South Carolina Beaufort's Center for the Arts (USCB).

Decoration Day highlights with soulful song and storytelling the roots of what is now known as Memorial Day. The play explores how Gullah Geechee ancestors-newly freed from slavery-played a central role in honoring fallen Union soldiers by decorating their graves, establishing one of the earliest known traditions of its kind.

Historical research by Yale professor David Blight and other scholars have documented a pivotal ceremony held in Charleston, South Carolina, on May 1, 1865. During this event, formerly enslaved African Americans, including members of the Gullah Geechee community, reburied Union soldiers who had been placed in a mass grave during the Civil War. The reinterment was followed by a public gathering of nearly 10,000 people-among them, 3,000 Black children-who marched, sang, and laid flowers on the graves in a powerful act of remembrance.

This historic moment is widely regarded by historians as one of the earliest commemorations of fallen soldiers and is often cited as a precursor to the modern Memorial Day tradition.

Location
University South Carolina Beaufort Center for the Arts
901 Carteret Street
Beaufort, SC 29902

To purchase tickets or explore sponsorship opportunities, visit: www.gullahkinfolktravelingtheater.org