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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