Dear editor:

I am writing in response to the Seeking Descendants of Taylors Creek article that was in the Coastal Courier last week. 

The article stated in paragraph 3 that “Families at Taylors Creek and surrounding communities accepted their relocation as an act for the good of the country, but also experienced a sense of loss for abandoning their beloved homes and neighbors”. This is not an accurate depiction of what transpired from my vantage point. I am the great grandson of one of the original residents of Taylors Creek, Mr. Melvin and Mamie Caldwell and I find it highly offensive and very disturbing that this information has been skewed. 

My great grandparents Mr. Melvin and Mamie Caldwell absolutely did not deem having to leave Taylor Creek in order for the government to create Ft. Stewart Military base as an act of good will at all. I cannot and do not speak for all of the original residents of Taylors Creek but I can attest that my great grandparents were not advocates of this endeavor by the US Government. They were property owners and residents who loved the land that they called home. There may be some semblance of this act of good of the country but for my family this was certainly not the case.

As an avid student of history, I think I need to kindly and graciously inform you that during the early 1900’s - 1930’s there were many communities the united states that was established by descendants of slaves just one generation after the abolishment of slavery. These communities such as Durham, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, Rosewood, Florida and Greenwood (Black Wall Street) Tulsa, Oklahoma were rich and flourishing communities but was ultimately destroyed through hate, jealousy and other tactics.

Many of these tactics were implemented in order to keep power away from a particular group of people and to dilute wealth and to make it more difficult to bequeath property to future generations.

To reiterate, I kindly ask you, and it would behoove you, to make a correction in an updated article in the Coastal Courier. I will follow up with the Coastal Courier to make sure an updated article is augmented to reflect the correct information. I will not allow the history of Taylors Creek to be further distorted and I desire to protect my family’s legacy.

Torrance Smith

Tampa, Fla.