Gullah Geechee community in South Georgia fights off gentrification via historic referendum

Voters in McIntosh County, which is predominantly white, voted 85% in favor of the referendum to deny the construction of large homes on Sapelo Island.

As gentrification continues to seep deeper into longstanding Black communities, a Gullah Geechee community in South Georgia earned a historic referendum at the ballot box earlier this month.

Voters on Sapelo Island soundly rejected a measure that would have allowed large homes to be built there. Black landowners feared the approval of the referendum would have saddled them with soaring property taxes. The vote overrode a 2023 decision by McIntosh County commissioners to double the size of homes allowed in the tiny community of Hogg Hummock.

It remains the only sea island community of Gullah Geechee individuals in the entire state.

“All that’s family,” Ire Grovner told the Guardian. “All those people who want to build houses here ain’t gonna close me in.”

In the early 20th century, more than 500 Gullah Geeche residents claimed Hogg Hummock as home. Now the number has dwindled to 30 or 40, with many still maintaining homes and property on the island. Gullah Geechee communities exist throughout the Southeast, from the Carolinas to Florida. These descendants of enslaved people have maintained a connection to their ancestors, including through their own dialect and the retention of African heritage. Hogg Hummock was designated a treasured U.S. historic site by the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

However, it resides in predominantly white McIntosh County, and battles have been waged over the land.

According to official results, more than 85% of voters cast ballots in the referendum, with 1,584 voting “yes” and 285 voting “no.” It was a 19% voter turnout for the 10,000 people who live in McIntosh County, but the overwhelming support for the referendum sent a clear statement.

The fight between Black residents and county officials on the island has been ongoing for decades, thanks to those outside the community arriving to purchase land to build vacation homes and more. Residents made their fight public, collecting signatures for petitions and bringing the order to a vote, forcing the Georgia Supreme Court to call for a special election.

“I believe Sapelo is important to these folks and they’re sending a message to McIntosh County and saying, `Stop doing this,’” Jazz Watts, a Hogg Hummock descendant and landowner who was among the referendum organizers, said. “It makes a significant statement that I hope the Board of Commissioners and the entire county pays attention to.”

Even with a victory at the ballot box, Black residents in the tiny community expect the fight to continue, as a new tax assessment could trigger an increase in property values more than five times the original price, with some lots priced around $27,500 fetching as much as $210,000.