H 5710

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 5710
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
A house RESOLUTION
to formally honor the life, vision, courage, wisdom,
and lasting legacy of Ms. Vivian Guyton, whose spirit and dedication continue
to inspire the ongoing work of remembrance, preservation, healing, unity, and
historical restoration of the Roseville Plantation Descendant Community.
Whereas, the Roseville
Plantation Descendant Community gathers on this sacred occasion to honor the
lives, sacrifices, perseverance, faith, and enduring legacy of all families
connected to the history of Roseville Plantation and the surrounding Florence
County community, recognizing the generations whose labor, strength,
resilience, and humanity helped to shape this land and the lives of those who
came after them; and
Whereas, the Roseville
Plantation Slave & Freedmen Cemetery stands as hallowed ground, carrying
the memory, spirit, and shared history of generations whose lives, labor,
faith, and family ties remain forever woven into the history of this community
and whose stories continue to live through their descendants today; and
Whereas, this gathering
serves as an opportunity to reflect upon our collective history with truth,
dignity, compassion, and understanding while bringing together all descendants
and families connected through ancestry, history, community, and legacy, united
in a shared commitment to remembrance, healing, reconciliation, and
preservation; and
Whereas, this sacred
work of remembrance and restoration was reignited through the vision, courage,
and unwavering dedication of Ms. Vivian Guyton, whose commitment inspired
descendants and families to reconnect, preserve ancestral history, protect
sacred burial grounds, and ensure that future generations would never forget
those who came before them; and
Whereas, Ms. Vivian
Guyton entrusted to Ms. Polly Daniels Sheppard, survivor of the Mother Emanuel
AME Church Massacre, the powerful and prophetic charge to "Put flesh on those
bones," calling upon descendants to restore the names, stories, humanity,
dignity, and legacy of generations whose voices were too often unheard,
overlooked, or forgotten within the pages of history; and
Whereas, this gathering
acknowledges that the history of Roseville Plantation is a shared history that
connects families, communities, and generations and recognizes the importance
of preserving that history with honesty, respect, integrity, and unity so that
future generations may better understand both the hardships and the resilience
that shaped the lives of their ancestors; and
Whereas, many
descendant families connected to this sacred history also helped establish and
sustain historic churches throughout the Florence area, churches that served as
places of worship, refuge, education, leadership, healing, strength, and hope
during some of the most challenging periods in American history; and
Whereas, this occasion
serves not only as a remembrance of history, but also as a celebration of
resilience, survival, faith, family, healing, cultural preservation, and the
enduring bonds that continue to unite descendants across generations and
backgrounds; and
Whereas, this gathering
stands as a reminder that remembering the past is essential to building a
stronger future and that preserving ancestral truth helps ensure that the
sacrifices, struggles, achievements, and contributions of those who came before
us will never again be erased or forgotten. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of
Representatives, by this resolution, formally honor the life, vision, courage,
wisdom, and lasting legacy of Ms. Vivian Guyton, whose spirit and dedication
continue to inspire the ongoing work of remembrance, preservation, healing,
unity, and historical restoration of the Roseville Plantation Descendant
Community.
Be it further resolved that copy of this resolution
be provided for the historical record of the Roseville Plantation Family
Gathering held on July 25, 2026.
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This web page was last updated on June 25, 2026 at 05:14 PM