From what I have been able to find out, it appears that the small and struggling Gullah-Geechee community of Hog Hummock on Sapelo Island, Georgia is in danger of losing their way of life.
Not that these people haven’t known displacement before. In fact, displacement is the very reason they came to Sapelo in the first place. Their ancestors were brought here against their will from the Sierra Leone region of West Africa in the early 1700’s, enslaved for the purposes of digging trenches and canals on the Sea Islands of the southeastern coast so that their new owners could make fortunes growing rice, cotton, and indigo.
On Sapelo in particular, they remained a very isolated and insulated people for generations after slavery was abolished due to the remote access to the island, which, still today, can only be reached by boat. Originally, five separate communities consisting of Saltwater Geechee families existed on Sapelo, but thanks to relentless encroachment and manipulation at the hands of a succession of landowners and then the state of Georgia itself, Sapelo was gradually overtaken by others, leaving the last remnant of the Geechee community with a scant few hundred acres known as Hog Hummock.
It is here that they have remained, proudly holding onto the customs and ways of their ancestors, one of the last remaining cultural strongholds of Gullah-Geechee culture in the nation.
The State of Georgia owns most of the rest of Sapelo, roughly 95% of the island, which is largely undeveloped. Hog Hummock, up until now, has existed in a special zoning district designed to protect the size and function of the structures, as well as the historic importance of the built environment and the culture it portrays.
In 2023, however, the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners voted to change the zoning requirements to allow much larger structures to be built - an increase from 1400 square feet maximum to 3000 square feet. This will encourage vacation homes, following which, land values will increase and so will property taxes. Eventually, the people of Hog Hummock rightfully fear they will be priced out of their homes and driven off of the island for good. And with them will go the last vestige of Sapelo’s Gullah-Geechee heritage.
Court battles ensued immediately. Supporters gathered enough signatures on a petition to authorize a special referendum election to protest the zoning change, only to have the referendum struck down - after the election was already underway - by a judge. The case now rests with the Georgia Supreme Court, which will hear arguments sometime between April and July of this year.
Though I have been a frequent visitor to Georgia’s Golden Isles for 20 years, I am sorry to say I have never made the trip to Sapelo. That is not to say, however, that I haven’t fallen in love with it through the beautiful words of the late Cornelia Walker Bailey, a direct descendant of the original West Africans who came here so long ago. Her book, God, Dr. Buzzard, and The Bolito Man, is a captivating narrative of life on the island through her eyes and those of her parents and their parents, bringing forward the stories told by generations before them. She tells the story of the Gullah-Geechee with great heart, endearing humor, and tremendous conviction.
Since my first encounter with her book nearly a decade ago, I have held a special place in my own heart for the plight of those who remain on Sapelo, fighting to save what is left of their culture.
If you would like to learn more, I provide links here, here, and here. And if you would like to help, I encourage you to visit this link and do what you can.
While I am certainly not a lawyer, nor any sort of an expert, it seems to me that much of this sad turn of events lies at the feet of the McIntosh County Board of Commissioners, whose vote to allow the zoning change began this latest struggle. Does it not stand to reason that they could easily reverse that decision on their own and correct a wrong that never should have happened in the first place?
If you would like to reach out to them, you can find their contact information right here.
Top photo by Richard Burkhart, Savannah Morning News. Second and third photos by Brian Brown, Vanishing Georgia.
Photo of book cover copyright 2001 by Anchor Books, a division of Random House.
It really is a shame that Georgia thinks that one little corner of history should be erased.
The Hilton Head Island developers have been trying to push the Gullah off their land for years, but the owners of heir’s land have been fighting back, and in some cases winning. I believe more people need to be aware of this situation so we can help them preserve their way of life. Thank for this article, and the links.