Last Updated on 10/16/2008

Published on 6/19/2008

At the urging of the article by your Tommy Howard, I watched the movie trailer for the film "Bin Yah" ("been here" in Gullah).

Although I believe that a realistic definition for "urban sprawl" includes "...being successful enough to enjoy a place in the country," I have for a long time realized that rural black communities are being decimated by development. I think that this is a shame and should be addressed by the respective counties zoning policies.

As we have Historical Districts, Commercial Districts and the like, we should have Cultural Heritage Districts that allow for lower tax ratios which, in turn, allow these communities to stay intact.

If you are new to the South, you may not be familiar with "Heirs Property." At the end of slavery, many black families came into ownership of tracts of land. Without the benefit of legal advice, these properties were passed down through the years without wills. Each set of parents left their property to all of their children undivided. As generations pass, it is normal to find a parcel of land owned by dozens if not hundreds of people who are scattered over the world.

There is usually one person who lives close by who is responsible for seeing to the payment of taxes to keep the property in the family, but no one can benefit from the ownership of the property more than having a place to put a home or farm. No one person can get a mortgage to build a nice home, to pay for a college education, medical expenses or investments. It is a very encumbering situation that could be helped with the proper legal assistance.

For once it would be good to see the NAACP, with its vast legal staff, help out with this or anything meaningful. It would be good to see the NAACP step up and help unravel the heirs property nightmare that allows a developer to buy out a small interest from a distant family member and sue to end up with total ownership. It also would be good to see the county set up Cultural Heritage Zones with respect given to the rural black culture.

Bill Hills

Murrells Inlet

Protesting Lowe's

Since it is Steve Thomas' intent to disenfranchise the Kensington homeowners from having any vote or voice in City of Georgetown matters, I wanted to send you a few words to help you understand the direction that Mr. Thomas is taking the City of Georgetown.

The definition of a fascist/imperialist in the simplest of terms is as follows:

"The people currently in control fear that if they allow equal rights and equal consideration to those being oppressed they themselves will become oppressed and loose control.

"Generally, those in power are a small segment of society, but they hold the wealth and control key systems like government, providing them with the legal justification to persecute a specific segment of the population.

"The most notable characteristic of fascism is the separation and denial of equality to a specific segment of the population, or making policies based on current circumstances to control portions of a population."

Hmmm ... to me, this is what Mr. Thomas is stating and doing by not allowing Kensington homeowners to have a voice in a development that will affect them and no other homeowners in the City of Georgetown.

How can the City of Georgetown vote on the Lowe's development and not allow Kensington to have a say in what they want?

Lowe's will not affect the property values of any City of Georgetown property. Only Kensington will bear the burden of this.

The majority of Kensington homeowners do not want Lowe's to be built on the location between Wal-Mart and Kensington School. This will be stated in petitions and in letters. We are being disenfranchised by Mr. Thomas and the City of Georgetown. His actions reek of fascist behavior.

I personally ask that the City Council of Georgetown encourage Lowe's to locate in an area that affects NO heavily populated areas like Kensington.

Please listen to the homeowners that this will affect! Do not disenfranchise us on such an important issue.

Heather Gordon Sweetser

Kensington

Kaminski House

The Georgetown County Historical Society Board of Directors urges the mayor and council to bear in mind that the Kaminski House Museum is a unique institution. It tells not only some of the history of our town but also chronicles the impact of one of the major post-Civil War families.

This legacy was left to our city in 1972 by Mrs. Julia Kaminski. The city accepted this generous gift and for the last 36 years has supported and promoted the house. The city and many of the supporters of the house through the years have poured much time, energy and money into making this a better facility. The Friends of the Kaminski House Museum are to be commended for their interest and support.

With so much already invested, with the continuing efforts toward excellence, it would be unwise to adopt the cuts in the budget for the Kaminski House Museum that are being suggested.

We urge the mayor and council to continue to support the Kaminski Museum.

Patricia D. Doyle

Georgetown

Mrs. Doyle is president of the Georgetown County Historical Society.