The Gullah Geechee community along the Georgia Coast, in Sapelo Island is currently in the process of suing the state of Georgia along with a few counties. Sapelo Island is located approximately 60 miles south of Savannah; the residents of this historic Gullah Geechee community have accused the State/counties of discrimination and neglect.

Like our great city of Charleston, SC, the property taxes on Sapelo continue to increase, however residents are complaining they don’t receive basic services from McIntosh County or Georgia. The high taxes and lack of services have become a real danger, making it nearly impossible for residents to stay there. The tricky part is, the State of Georgia claims to own 97 percent of the island, but according to the lawsuit, “ownership stake is based on a history of fraudulent land transfers and land theft by white millionaires throughout the twentieth century.” (again, Sounds familiar).

Their lawsuit also claims that zoning ordinances have continuously favored white developers who have built vacation homes, which violate zoning requirements. In an AP interview, Reginald Hall, 49 who lives in Ohio but vacations on his family’s property on Sapelo said this roots on Sapelo go back 224 years; he is leading the effort to protect his community. He says, “We’re looking for those protections to say our survival and sustainability is more important than vacation homes and losing the land by measures we consider illegal.

Attorneys for McIntosh County claim to be shocked by the lawsuit because in 2012, when residents complained about the rise in property taxes, they county reassessed and taxes were rolled back for every resident of Sapelo. However, the community is concerned that the taxes are still to high. In correlation with the high taxes, residents also claim the county doesn’t provide a modern sewer system, maintain roads, or provide emergency services on the island, but they continue to collect taxes from island residents. They also claim that garbage fees are paid annually by residents and these fees should guarantee curbside garbage collection, which is does for the mainland, but not for the Gullah Geechee residents on the island.

The fear with this community is in line with the fear many have had throughout the 400+ miles of Gullah Geechee territory that spans from the Carolinas to Florida. Property taxes slowly increase over time, everyone including the city government know that residents who are older and still live in these areas cannot afford to pay these fees. Families end up losing their homes and rich developers are able to purchase this and for fractions of what its worth. In turn, they turn the land into pricey real estate worth millions. We have seen this over and over again, and its obvious that this is what the island of Sapelo wants to prevent. Also, we know how much rich developers love the water, so they are looking at the island of Sapelo like a mega cash-cow.

As a resident of Charleston, SC, we can understand completely what these residents are experiencing. We fully support of family in the Gullah Geechee islands of Georgia, and we hope they kick ass in this suit!

Syllabus Magazine

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