The Reparations Project & Binya Present, A Walk Through Mitchelville: Where Freedom Began

Binya’s founder and store owner, Lola Campbell, is pleased to present in collaboration with The Reparations Project, an inspiring video about the story of Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park. It is called “A Walk Through Mitchelville: Where Freedom Began” and was filmed by Makhulu Films from South Africa!

Sarah Eisner, co-founder of The Reparations Project, approached Lola about doing a story about Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park and its meaning to the Gullah people and culture. It was one of Binya’s first projects under our new division of Cultural Impact Consulting.

The purpose of creating this video is to educate the masses on the story of Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park and its importance in the history of Hilton Head Island, the state of South Carolina and America. Further, they hope to entice people to visit Mitchelville and see the birthplace of Freedom.

Sharing first about The Reparations Project, we invite you to visit their website to dig deeper. As a quick overview, the initiative by the Quarterman & Keller Fund seeks to narrow the wealth gap and promote equity by uniting descendants of those who were enslaved and supporting descendant families of enslavers. In similar words: bringing together families of former slaves with former slave owners. This is a remarkable organization of healing both Black and White people with a tremendously painful history of slavery.

The Quarterman & Keller Fund is a charitable public fund created by Randy Quarterman and Sarah Eisner, descendants of the enslaved and enslavers, in Coastal Georgia. The name Quarterman intentionally comes first to honor the enslaved, Zeke Quarterman, and his descendants. George Adam Keller, Sarah’s great-great-great-grandfather, enslaved Zeike Quarterman, Randy’s great-great-great-grandfather, on Coldbrook Plantation. Isn’t it incredible that these two (shown pictured below) have joined forces to bring awareness and to build community? They are presently working together to navigate land ownership and title disputes. Please watch their compelling video on their site to learn more! https://reparationsproject.org

This joint venture video that we are unveiling today between The Reparations Project and Binya was filmed at Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park and is a dialogue between Lola and Sarah as they walk through the newly erected metal framed houses that stand where homes once were, and as they meander past the praise house (which now resides at the Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island.) Talking on the docks as they stand by the marsh, Sarah asks 6th generation native islander, Lola Campbell, about what Mitchelville means to Lola and her family, and how she learned about this historic land in school.

What would life be like for African American’s today, if Mitchelville had not thrived? Lola answers this question in the video. Surprisingly, Lola did not learn about Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park until she was in her mid-twenties. The birthplace of freedom — the first place where formerly enslaved Africans lived freely and successfully formed their own free and thriving community — was unknown to Lola and many, many others in her younger years. Please watch as this very natural conversation unfolds!

Want to watch the longer version? Click here to view: https://youtu.be/dELjg7m9pOI?si=0NSjqWbX911-7Dma

“Just under 7 miles from where I was raised, and about a mile from the church I grew up in, sits Mitchelville - sparse remnants of one of the most important settlements in U.S. history,” said Lola Campbell.

“It’s the place where freedom literally began. Although I grew up so close to Mitchelville, I had no knowledge of its existence until somewhere around 15-20 years ago. And I feel ashamed of that. I find it unbelievable and unacceptable! I should have learned about it in a social studies or history class in school, or even in the living room of my home. But many family members associated Mitchelville with slavery, instead of crediting it for the inspiring story of freedom that it is. Mitchelville is about FREEDOM, Entrepreneurs and Inspiration. And even when I came to know of Mitchelville, during the many years I lived around this country, in New York, DC, Maryland and Charlotte, and traveled the world, I never once encountered anyone who knew about Mitchelville. I think that it’s time for this to change. In my opinion, it’s not a story to only be shared locally, or regionally, or even nationally, but instead internationally.”

Today, a much greater emphasis and broader effort is being placed on educating our youth about the impact of Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park and the impact that it had on African-Americans. Through their partnership, The Reparations Project and Binya were also able to develop an educational resource that can be downloaded and distributed. It is intended for young audiences and to be used in schools. This free, educational resource is brought to you by The Reparations Project and Binya. Download it today! From information about what Mitchelville is to questions that readers can ask to evoke conversation, we invite you to check out this resource!

More to come on this incredible story of healing with The Reparations Project and please enjoy this video about Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park and what it means to Lola and her community.

Film Credits: Makhulu Films - South Africa

A huge thank you to The Reparations Project and Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park and all that participated.