A new zoning ordinance that was just passed in the coastal region of Georgia could potentially threaten the livelihoods and land ownership of Black ancestral property owners.
The Gullah Geechee region, or corridor as it is also known, is a stretch of sea islands along the Southeast coast that is home to thousands of Black Americans who are descendants of enslaved West Africans who primarily were put to work growing rice on marshy plantations.
And in the Hogg Hammock community on Sapelo Island in Georgia — which historians believe is one of the last surviving Gullah Geechee enclaves — McIntosh County commissioners voted 3-2 to change a zoning law that would double the maximum square footage of some homes, which could increase property taxes in several areas and attract wealthy land buyers.
The Associated Press reported that before the vote, the zoning restrictions instituted nearly 30 years ago were designed to help 30 to 50 of Hogg Hammock’s residents retain their land.
Related: ‘A Win In a War’: Geechee Community In Georgia Gets Property Tax Break, Cash Settlement After Being Pushed Out, Deprived of Services
Now, the zoning change could potentially force some people whose homes have been passed down through the generations to sell their land if they can’t afford to pay those tax increases.
One of those residents who planned to retire on land her father owned believes that is the case.
“It’s going to be very, very difficult,” Yolanda Grovner told AP. “I think this is their way of pushing residents off the island.”
“We’re still fighting all the time,” Hogg Hammock native and local historian Maurice Bailey remarked. “They’re not going to stop. The people moving in don’t respect us as people. They love our food, they love our culture. But they don’t love us.”
Sapelo Island resident Josiah “Jazz” Watts told CNN that residents weren’t even given the opportunity to offer input on the…
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