In a win for Black landowners, Georgia’s highest court unanimously sided with Gullah Geechee communities in a long-standing zoning battle on Sapelo Island.
On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling that had stopped a referendum to consider repealing a revised zoning ordinance passed by McIntosh County officials two years ago. A citizens’ referendum aimed at restricting development can now move forward.
The court heard oral arguments in three cases dealing with a zoning code that allows for larger homes to be built on the island. Sapelo Island is home to one of the state’s last remaining Gullah Geechee communities.
Back in April, Reginald Hall traveled nearly six hours from the quiet of his home in Sapelo Island to Atlanta to hear a landmark case that could shape the future of his historic community in Georgia.
Last year, Sapelo Island residents sued county officials for blocking them from holding a crucial vote that could determine whether they would be displaced from the last Gullah Gechee community on the Georgia coast.
Barbara Bailey, Christopher Bailey, and Stanley Walker, on behalf of 2,300 voters, claimed McIntosh County commissioners stopped residents from casting their ballots in a referendum.
The issue stemmed from a lower court ruling that ordered an October 2024 election be halted during early voting, a decision aligned with commissioners who filed the lawsuit. The residents triggered the election, after collecting more than 2,000 signatures on a petition to vote on the commissioners’ decision.
The Baileys and Walker appealed the decision.
In April, Hall and dozens of others — including descendants, advocates such as Black Voters Matter, and state representatives — stood in solidarity at the Georgia Supreme Court, where nine justices heard oral arguments in the case.
Much of the hearing centered on the interpretation of the Home Rule provision in the state’s constitution. Under the provision, amendments to or repeals of local ordinances, resolutions, or regulations may be initiated by a petition filed to a probate court judge. The judge will then decide the validity of the petition within 60 days and issue a special election, if warranted.
Despite the ongoing lawsuit, the county commissioners had attempted to “reaffirm” the very zoning law they’re currently defending in court. The zoning ordinance, passed two years ago, would allow construction of homes to double in size. This would be much larger than traditional homes in the 427-acre historic Hogg Hammock, or Hogg Hummock, neighborhood on Sapelo Island, which is about 60 miles south of Savannah.
Residents feared the changes would have resulted in higher taxes, attract developers, and led to displacement.
Reginald Hall, a Sapelo Island descendant, called the zoning ordinance a form of redlining. (Ann Hill Bond/Capital B)
“What we’re looking at is the new redlining,” Hall said outside the Supreme Court earlier this year. “The new redlining says that you zone some poor folk or less fortunate folk, less economic folk out of their land value as an increase. … We’ve been located as family members, descendants of enslaved people, for 229 years this year.”
This is yet another effort by government entities, wealthy investors, or corporations to take land from historically Black under-resourced communities, said Larry Riley, state coordinator for the Georgia chapter of the ADOS Advocacy Foundation, an organization focused on reparations for American descendants of slavery. He referenced Sparta, Georgia, where Black landowners are fighting to stop a railroad company from seizing their land, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, another Gullah Geechee community where the late Josephine Wright battled developers until her death to protect her family’s home.
But, the most alarming aspect, particularly in Sapelo Island, is the attack on voting rights and Black political power — and the precedent this Supreme Court case could set, he added.
“We’re seeing an increase in voter suppression. That’s another issue that makes Sapelo really unique, because they wanted a vote, but were blocked from it. The scary thing is if the court sides with McIntosh County, that sets precedent that this could happen more often in other places because they’ve seen it work here,” Riley said. “We need more organizations and the general public to know about these things and make noise about it.”
As Sustainable Georgia Futures put it: “This case is about protecting legacy, land, and self-determination.”
This fight was the most recent of many between the residents here and its local government. Already, they’ve endured government neglect, property tax hikes, and white developers eyeing the land, known for its beaches and climate, as a place to build luxury resorts and golf courses. After celebrating their annual Cultural Day last fall, seven elders lost their lives due to a gangway collapse, which residents previously sounded the alarm about its poor conditions.
They’ve used litigation to settle disputes. In recent court battles, the county settled, promising to provide better fire equipment and emergency medical services, in addition to improved maintenance of roads and a 30% reduction in garbage fees to residents.
They’re back in court, seeking an opinion on whether the referendum can move forward. In addition to the residents’ case, the Supreme Court heard two other related cases between McIntosh County and county Probate Court Judge Harold Webster, who approved the petition and scheduled the October election.
30-year protections broken
Sapelo Island residents have been in a battle with McIntosh County to protect their land from encroaching development. (Malcolm Jackson)
As early as the summer of 2023, Sapelo Island descendants and activists actively worked to prevent the county from repealing protections established in the 1990s. McIntosh County created the Hog Hammock Historic District in 1994 to protect the community’s historic resources and ward off threats from land speculators and development. The area is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“It is the intent of this district to reserve this area for low intensity residential and cottage industry uses which are environmentally sound and will not contribute to land value increases which could force removal of the indigenous population,” according to Appendix C, Article 2, Section 219 of the McIntosh County Code of Ordinances.
County commissioners reversed course in 2023 when they planned to raise the maximum square footage of a heated-and-cooled house from 1,400 to 3,000, which residents warned would lead to higher property taxes. They packed out zoning and planning commission meetings as well as county board meetings to share their concerns. Despite their pleas, commissioners voted 3 to 2 in favor of the proposal.
“What they voted on today was unjust and unfair to the descendants of the island,” Commissioner Roger Lotson, the sole Black board member, said at the time. Lotson, who voted against the motion along with commissioner William Harrell, tried to strike a compromise by postponing the vote for 45 days and allowing the proposal to be viewed by the community. He also tried to reduce the square footage.
Both of the motions failed, The Current reported.
Read More: The Battle for Land, Identity, and Survival of Gullah Geechee Communities
County manager Patrick Zoucks told the Darien News that the “proposed amendments to the Hogg Hammock zoning regulations are in the best interest of the residents of Hogg Hammock and all of the citizens of McIntosh County. These regulations provide the best protection that any county in Georgia can provide to similarly situated communities.”
As residents collected signatures for the petition, separately, a group of nine residents — who are mostly retirees or on a fixed income — from the Hog Hammock community filed a complaint in October 2023 against the commissioners to challenge what they call an “unlawful zoning amendment” in the Superior Court of McIntosh County. They argued that if the property taxes increase as a result of the amendment change, they will not be able to afford to live on the island anymore. The county asked the judge to throw out the suit in November. In March 2024, Superior Court Judge Jay Stewart dismissed the case without prejudice.
The outcome of the case didn’t break the community’s spirit.
By July 2024, they collected more than 2,300 signatures on their petition, and three residents filed it in McIntosh County probate court to put the referendum on the ballot. Weeks later, Probate County Judge Harold Webster validated the votes and approved an election for Oct. 1, 2024.
Rather than allow the election to proceed, county commissioners filed a complaint in Superior Court to stop the election, stating that Webster lacked authority and jurisdiction to take actions on the referendum petition. In September, a month before the election, Superior Court Judge Gary McCorvey ordered a halt to the election, as voters were casting early ballots. More than 800 people had voted.
The support remains strong
Keara Skates and Abiodun Henderson attended April’s court hearing at the Georgia Supreme Court to show their support for Sapelo Island residents. (Dante Miller/Capital B)
Many residents and supporters of all ages were optimistic that Sapelo Island will get justice, as they’ve been successful in the courts before.
At the very least, “Black folks deserve to have something,” said Abiodun Henderson, executive director of Gangstas to Growers, an agribusiness training program for formerly incarcerated youth in Atlanta. She added that the descendants have the right to have the land their ancestors toiled on and worked on.
With continued gentrification and erasure across all Gullah Geechee communities, descendants are pushing back even harder to protect their home.
“The people are Geechee people because we were left unbothered and untouched, and I just want the Geechee people to stay Geechee,” said Keara Skates, 24, who is a descendant. “We don’t need another Jekyll Island. We don’t need another Tybee Island. We don’t need another Hilton Head Island. … We’ve been able to preserve our culture for so long, and it’s devastating to see that it’s being destroyed for development, essentially to make all these white people happy.”
Daniel Ogobor, 16, a descendant of Sapelo Island, said it’s time for anyone who cares to join Sapelo Island in this fight.
There have been a lot of older folks in the community leading the push, and they can’t go on forever, and it’s super important for young people to get involved,” he added.
Parthenia Myers says she’s going to continue to fight on behalf of Sapelo Island’s residents. (Ann Hill Bond/Capital B)
No matter what happens, Parthenia Myers, 47, a resident of Sapelo and executive director of Mystic Roots Foundation, said they will continue to fight this attempt at the new redlining and defend the land.
“These islands used to be completely Black owned, and when you go there now, all you pretty much see is a sign that tells you what was, as opposed to the living culture,” Myers said.
“Sapelo Island is one of the last intact Gullah Geechee communities in North America. It’s important that she is preserved for her people now and for her future generations.”
For Hall, the 57-year-old descendant, a win in this case would mean the Gullah Geechee population on Sapelo Island can thrive for generations to come — if the state and county governments and developers leave them alone, he said.
“If you think about our quality of life on the island, while this is happening, we are completely discombobulated, not just through a social mechanism, but through what we know as an economic mechanism of destruction,” Hall said. “That mechanism says, ‘Let’s zone the Black folks out. Let’s move the wealthy in, develop the property, [and] make a multimillion-dollar establishment,’ as they’ve done from Hilton Head all the way down to Florida. We must stop the ball from rolling over us.”
This story has been updated.
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