Current:Home > MyHow indigo, a largely forgotten crop, brings together South Carolina's past and present-InfoLens
How indigo, a largely forgotten crop, brings together South Carolina's past and present
View Date:2025-01-12 02:42:58
Charleston, South Carolina — Sheena Myers makes her indigo soap knowing nothing can scrub away South Carolina's past.
"There's a whole history behind what I'm doing," Myers told CBS News. "…It's real deep."
Indigo dye's beautiful color is shrouded by an ugly history. In the mid-1700s, wealthy South Carolina planters called it "blue gold," a labor-intensive cash crop produced by the sweat of enslaved people.
For Myers, it's personal. Among those enslaved indigo workers was her great-great-grandmother.
Her indigo company, Genotype, sells skincare and medicinal products for psoriasis, peptic ulcers and bronchitis, with annual sales topping $1 million.
"Because they were humiliated, and now I'm being honored" Myers said. "And me being honored is like I'm honoring them as well. I don't think they ever would have thought in a million years they would have a descendant creating things like this."
Down the road, Precious Jennings grows indigo to process its natural dye powder, a farm-to-fabric process that is like digging for healing through the dirt of a former plantation.
"Every day I come onto this land, I honor and think about and give gratitude to the people that were here and enslaved on this land," Jennings said.
Myers wants to pass her business, and family history, to her three sons.
"If they keep this business alive, it won't disappear," Myers said, hoping to grow a new indigo legacy that is rich in humility.
"It will continue," Myers said.
- In:
- slavery
- South Carolina
Mark Strassmann has been a CBS News correspondent since January 2001 and is based in the Atlanta bureau.
veryGood! (99991)
Related
- 'Underbanked' households more likely to own crypto, FDIC report says
- 1 person dead after shooting inside Washington state movie theater
- Minnesota Groups Fear Environmental Shortcuts in Enbridge’s Plan to Rebuild Faulty Pipeline
- Got neck and back pain? Break up your work day with these 5 exercises for relief
- NBA players express concern for ex-player Kyle Singler after social media post
- Dakota Access Prone to Spills, Should Be Rerouted, Says Pipeline Safety Expert
- Here's How North West and Kim Kardashian Supported Tristan Thompson at a Lakers Game
- Miami police prepare for protesters outside courthouse where Trump is being arraigned
- Early Week 11 fantasy football rankings: 30 risers and fallers
- Donald Trump’s Record on Climate Change
Ranking
- My Chemical Romance returns with ‘The Black Parade’ tour
- Warning for Seafood Lovers: Climate Change Could Crash These Important Fisheries
- Ultra rare and endangered sperm whale pod spotted off California coast in once a year opportunity
- Fox News sends Tucker Carlson cease-and-desist letter over his new Twitter show
- Diamond Sports Group can emerge out of bankruptcy after having reorganization plan approved
- Italy’s Green Giant Enel to Tap Turkey’s Geothermal Reserves
- Italy’s Green Giant Enel to Tap Turkey’s Geothermal Reserves
- Acid poured on slides at Massachusetts playground; children suffer burns
Recommendation
-
School workers accused of giving special needs student with digestive issue hot Takis, other abuse
-
Donald Trump’s Record on Climate Change
-
Garcelle Beauvais Says Pal Jamie Foxx Is Doing Well Following Health Scare
-
A guide to 9 global buzzwords for 2023, from 'polycrisis' to 'zero-dose children'
-
Todd Golden to continue as Florida basketball coach despite sexual harassment probe
-
This $5 Tinted Moisturizer With 10,200+ 5-Star Reviews Is a Must-Have for Your Routine
-
Damar Hamlin is discharged from Buffalo hospital and will continue rehab at home
-
Cormac McCarthy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Road and No Country for Old Men, dies at 89