Descendants of formerly enslaved people fight for historic Georgia home as developers close in

Darien, Georgia - A community of Gullah-Geechee people, descendants of the formerly enslaved, are fighting for their historic Sapelo Island home amid a new wave of attacks.

Hog Hammock resident and Sapelo Island descendant Maurice Bailey (r.) talks with McIntosh County Commission Chairman David Stevens, who voted to remove zoning restrictions in the historic community.
Hog Hammock resident and Sapelo Island descendant Maurice Bailey (r.) talks with McIntosh County Commission Chairman David Stevens, who voted to remove zoning restrictions in the historic community.  © IMAGO / USA TODAY Network

Hog Hammock is home to around 40 residents, many of whom are Gullah-Geechee descending from formerly enslaved people forced to labor on plantations. They cultivated their own creole language and customs with direct ties to Central and West African cultures.

The 427-acre community on Georgia's Sapelo Island has been listed as a national historic site since 1996, prohibiting the construction of homes greater than 1,400 square feet and protecting existing structures.

But on Tuesday, McIntosh County commissioners voted 3-2 to do away with zoning restrictions in Hog Hammock. Residents, who spoke out en masse ahead of the decision, fear the move will leave them vulnerable to displacement as wealthy newcomers arrive and property taxes increase.

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The danger to the Gullah-Geechee community is very real after the county, which is 65% white, voted to discard official language that acknowledges Hog Hammock as an area with "unique needs in regard to its historic resources, traditional patterns of development, threat from land speculators and housing forms."

More than a hundred residents, many from Sapelo Island, turned out for the McIntosh County Commission meeting on September 12, 2023, at the courthouse in Darien, Georgia.
More than a hundred residents, many from Sapelo Island, turned out for the McIntosh County Commission meeting on September 12, 2023, at the courthouse in Darien, Georgia.  © IMAGO / USA TODAY Network

"We will not allow our history to be bought at the price of developers," state Representative Kim Schofield said in a press conference last week. "This is our history. This is our heritage, and we will protect it."

Cover photo: IMAGO / USA TODAY Network

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