Opponents fight proposed golf course on Gullah Geechee land
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A sign protesting a proposal to build a golf course and gated community on St. Helena Island in Beaufort, South Carolina. Photo: Jessie White/Coastal Conservation League
Residents and preservationists are rallying against a proposal to construct a gated community and golf course near a historic institution, fearing that the development will threaten the survival of Gullah Geechee culture along the coast.
Driving the news: Elvio Tropeano, the developer and property owner, wants to build the project on 502 acres on St. Helena Island — an island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, near the Georgia border home to significant Gullah Geechee and civil rights history.
- Tropeano is asking county officials to remove a cultural protection overlay from the island that prohibits certain new developments, like golf courses and gated communities.
Why it matters: The island is one of the last places that has a "really significant, living Gullah Geechee culture," said Jessie White, south coast office director of the Coastal Conservation League.
St. Helena Island is also home to the Penn Center, which in the 1860s became the first school in the South established for formerly enslaved Black people.
- During the 1960s, the campus served as a planning center for Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis and other members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
- It's designated as a National Historic Landmark District by the National Park Service.
What they're saying: White told Axios that the overlay is effective because it's allowed Gullah Geechee landowners to retain their properties against the backdrop of a push to build on these largely rural islands.
- "It's been demonstrated up and down the corridor on our Sea Islands that these are the types of developments that run completely over the land and the people and lead to displacement," she said, citing Hilton Head Island as an example.
- Two petitions against the project and a website advocating for the protection of St. Helena Island have been created by opponents.
The other side: Tropeano told Axios Tuesday in an emailed statement that he's been in "consistent and thorough dialogue on how to support" the coastal Gullah Geechee culture, as well as planning for the future while respecting the past.
- He also questioned what opponents have done to help people who live on the island.
- "I have yet to see a conservation easement or a forest help a kid get through college, help a family pay their bills, or put food on a table," he said. "If our plans can change the trajectory of one child or help instill optimism in one family that otherwise would be lost, it will all be worth it."
Context: The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of Africans who were enslaved on plantations along the Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida coasts.
- The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission notes that the isolated nature of the plantations created a unique identity visible in its language, food, music and arts.
Threat level: Over the last few decades, developers have encroached into these areas, constructing large vacation homes and other projects that attract wealthier people to the coast.
- One example includes Georgia's Sapelo Island.
- However, these projects are being met with resistance, as Gullah Geechee community members are fighting to hold on to their heritage.
What's next: Tropeano's request was recommended for denial on June 5 by the Beaufort County Planning Commission. It will be heard by the Beaufort County Council next week.