Georgia Supreme Court hears Sapelo Island zoning dispute

Slave descendants fight to protect their threatened island community

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Georgia’s highest court waded Wednesday into a fight between Black landowners and local officials who have weakened long-standing protections for one of the South’s last Gullah-Geechee communities founded by freed slaves.

Slave descendants fight to protect their threatened island community at Georgia’s highest court

By RUSS BYNUM SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Georgia’s highest court waded Wednesday into a fight between Black landowners and local officials who have weakened long-standing protections for one of the South’s last Gullah-Geechee communities founded by freed slaves. Related Articles As demand for AI rises, so do power thirsty data centers An unknown number of people are being treated after a shooting at Florida State …

Gullah-Geechee Community Fights to Preserve Ancestral Land

Residents of Hogg Hummock, a Gullah-Geechee community on Georgia’s Sapelo Island, are challenging zoning changes that threaten their historic enclave. The Georgia Supreme Court is assessing whether the community can force a referendum to overturn zoning amendments that could lead to property tax increases and displacement of long-time Black landowners. The post Gullah-Geechee Community Fights to Preserve Ancestral Land appeared first on African …

Georgia high court hears Sapelo zoning referendum case • Georgia Recorder

A case before the Georgia Supreme Court stems from McIntosh County’s decision in September 2023 to allow the construction of larger houses in the modest Hogg Hummock neighborhood, which is one of the last Gullah Geechee communities in the United States. .John McCosh/Georgia RecorderThe Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments about a controversial zoning decision that threatens to change the character of an historic Gullah Geechee…

Constitutional Showdown: Sapelo Islanders' Last Stand Against Mansion Development

ShareThe Georgia Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in cases that could decide in the near term whether large oceanfront houses can be built on a sleepy island while in the long term reverberating far from the coast. The dispute is over the preservation of the Gullah-Geechee way of life lived in small bungalows on Sapelo Island, where officials in McIntosh County have voted to allow the construction of larger houses. But it’s also abou…

Sapelo Island conservation at stake in lawsuit over zoning

ATLANTA – The Georgia Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in cases that could decide in the near term whether large oceanfront houses can be built on a sleepy island while in the long term reverberating far from the coast.…