H 5044

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 5044
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
Recalled
March 31, 2026
H. 5044
Introduced
by Reps. Wetmore, Stavrinakis and Teeple
S. Printed 3/31/26--S.
Read the first time February 12, 2026
________
A concurrent RESOLUTION
To request the Department of Transportation name the
intersection of River Road and Maybank Highway on Johns Island in Charleston
County "Janie Bligen Hunter '1984 National Heritage Fellow' Intersection"
and erect appropriate signs or markers at this location containing these words.
Whereas, Janie Bligen
Hunter was a nationally recognized American singer and storyteller who worked
to preserve the Gullah culture and folkways in South Carolina's Charleston and
Lowcountry area. Born June 7, 1918, on River Road on Johns Island, she was a
daughter of Joe Bligen, a fisherman and a farmer. She earned less than forty
cents a day for her labor as a cotton picker when she was young; and
Whereas, Mrs. Hunter
came from a large family of singers and storytellers, and she was able to trace
the lineage of these stories to those handed down from her great-grandparents,
who were enslaved on the Sea Islands. She carried in her memory a collection of
animal stories, many interwoven with songs. She and her brother, Benjamin, were
among the last native speakers of the Gullah language. She framed the use of
the Gullah language among enslaved people as a form of resistance to
oppression, a creation of private linguistic space that could not be understood
by the white slaveowners; and
Whereas, Mrs. Hunter's
stories were used as entertainment as well as a teaching tool for adults and
children, but also showed uses of wit and logic. Her stories often featured
animals as characters such as "Fox and Rabbit" or "Partridge and Rabbit." Renown
as a singer and storyteller, she also was a quilter, notable for a color
tonality and design arrangement characteristic of the Sea Islands and
reminiscent of West Africa; and
Whereas, for thirty
years Mrs. Hunter toured as a song leader with the Moving Star Hall Singers
beginning in 1964 with a performance at the Newport Folk Festival. She made
recordings for three Smithsonian Folkways albums with the group. They include Sea
Island Folk Festival: Moving Star Hall Singers and Alan Lomax; Been in the
Storm So Long: Spirituals and Shouts, Children's Game Songs, and Folktale; and
Johns Island, South Carolina: It's People and Songs. Her storytelling has
been published in the Carawans' Ain't You Got a Right to the Tree of Life
and Talk That Talk: An Anthology of African-American Storytelling; and
Whereas,
Mrs. Hunter was well regarded by academics and folklorists for her wide
knowledge of Gullah customs and traditions and was a frequent source in their
research and preservation work. She was featured in the 1991 Alan Lomax
documentary Dreams and Songs of the Noble Old, which focused on her
singing, storytelling, and efforts to pass on folk traditions to the younger
generations. She was also featured in John Cohen's 1975 documentary Musical
Holdouts, performing the song Sweet By and By; and
Whereas, Mrs. Hunter
was recognized as a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow in
1984 for her singing. The fellowship cited her knowledge and teaching of
storytelling, game songs, and folk medicine, as well as her skill in quilting
and crafting brooms and rag dolls. A large group of family members accompanied
her to the National Heritage ceremony in Washington, D.C., and she performed a
ring shout as part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. She also received
honors from the Smithsonian Institution and the National Association of Black
Storytellers. She was a winner of the South Carolina Folk Heritage Award; and
Whereas, she married
Willie Hunter and was the mother of fourteen children. A member of Wesley
Methodist Church, she was known for singing at Moving Star Hall, a local praise
house that was of special importance to her as a singer. Janie Bligen Hunter
passed away on June 14, 1997, on Johns Island; and
Whereas, leaving behind
a legacy rich in the heritage of the Gullah Geechee culture for generations to
learn from, it is only fitting and proper the Palmetto State honor Janie Bligen
Hunter for her significant contributions by naming an intersection on her
beloved Johns Island in her memory. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House
of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the
South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, request the Department of
Transportation name the intersection of River Road and Maybank Highway on Johns
Island in Charleston County "Janie Bligen Hunter '1984 National Heritage Fellow
Intersection'" and erect appropriate signs or markers at this location
containing these words.
Be it further resolved that
a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of Transportation.
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This web page was last updated on March 31, 2026 at 05:48 PM