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PAT McCRORY
GOVERNOR
GULLAH GEECHEE AWARENESS MONTH
2014
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
A PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor was established by federal legislation in 2006 to
recognize the important contributions made to American culture and history by African Americans, known as Gullah
Geechee, who settled in the coastal counties of South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida; and
WHEREAS, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission determined that coastal communities
as far north as Pender County in the State of North Carolina possess strong historical and cultural ties to Gullah Geechee
history and culture; and
WHEREAS, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission proposed in the Gullah Geechee
Cultural Heritage Corridor Management Plan that the boundary of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor be
defined to include Pender County, North Carolina, which was not included in the boundary defined in the designating
legislation; and
WHEREAS, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor is the only National Heritage Area that promotes
the living history of an African American population; and the Alliance of National Heritage Areas is established through
the National Park Service to encourage heritage development in the areas of natural resource conservation, historic
preservation, community revitalization, economic development, recreation enhancement, the arts, folk life, education and
interpretation; and
WHEREAS, the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Management Plan was approved by the Office of the
United States Secretary of the Interior on May 6, 2013, and the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission
has begun accepting partnership applications for projects and programs that will grow the Corridor through the
implementation tiers of Education, Documentation and Preservation, and Economic Development; and
WHEREAS, Gullah Geechee culture is a benefit to heritage tourism within the State of North Carolina,
particularly in Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover and Pender Counties;
NOW, THEREFORE, 1, PAT McCRORY, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim
October 2014, as “GULLAH GEECHEE AWARENESS MONTH” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to
all citizens.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North
Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this sixteenth day of July in the year of our Lord two thousand and fourteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth.
PAT McCROf
Governor
