Last Updated on 5/30/2012

Published on 2/22/2012

During Black History Month for the past 31 years, there’s been a big parade on Front Street in Georgetown.
This year’s grand marshall is Vermelle “Bunny” Smith Rodrigues.
The Committee for African American History Observances (CAAHO) will host the 31st annual parade this Saturday, Feb. 25, at 1 p.m.
People and groups participating in the parade will line up at East Bay Park at 11 a.m.
Bunny Rodrigues has a long history of promoting awareness of Gullah culture and heritage.
A native of Georgetown, she graduated from Howard High School and South Carolina State University. She received a B.S. in home economics, and taught in the school systems of Georgetown County and in Boston, Massachusetts. She also worked as a home economics consultant for the City of Boston’s head Start program.
She is the former owner of the Back Landin' specialty lace and fabric shop on Front Street in Georgetown and Vermelle's Boutique in Easton, Pennsylvania. She is currently the owner of the Gullah O'oman Gift and Collectible Shop and Museum located on Pawleys Island.
The shop specializes in Gullah, African, and African American crafts, artifacts, and collectibles.
Bunny and her husband Andrew Rodrigues, a retired labor attorney, are the proud parents of four daughters and three grand children.
One of the quilts she created in the early 1980s was the "Gullah O'oman Quilt," which tells the proud history of the Gullah people of the South Carolina Lowcountry.
When Andrew Rodrigues retired, the couple returned to her home of Georgetown.
She found that most black folk in Georgetown and throughout the Lowcountry did not know their history. Many denied that they were Gullah and were ashamed of the language and culture.
Bunny and Andrew Rodrigues decided to work to make black and white folk aware of the important contribution that the Gullah people made not only to South Carolina but to America as well.
The Gullah O’oman shop is a way the couple helps people learn about and gain a better understanding of the Gullah history and culture.
Her story quilts help recreate the folk art of the Carolina Lowcountry.
One of her African Diaspora Story Quilts tells the story of the Gullah people from a West Africa village through emancipation from slavery in the Low Country.
The couple has given seminars during which they tell the history of the Gullah people history and culture from Africa through the Middle Passage, and during slavery in America.
They have helped secure the Gullah Heritage Corridor with Congressional approval and by working with the National Park Service.
During their seminars and discussions they tell of the contributions made by Gullah people for the successes of indigo, rice and cattle cultures in the Carolina Lowcountry.
Several of her quilts have been featured in newspapers and magazines, at festivals and have been displayed in various museums.

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On Saturday, March 3, the second annual Dreamkeepers Parade Awards Program will be held at Arnett AME Church at 7 p.m. Parade trophies will be awarded.
For further information on the parade and the program contact (All numbers area code 843):
Carrethia Vereen, 833-3070; Abie Ladson, 546-8865; Odell Ruffin, 325-5385; Lillie Johnson, 546-6307.