Gullah Geechee community wins historic vote to block Georgia real estate development

MCINTOSH COUNTY, Ga. — Voters in McIntosh County overwhelmingly rejected a zoning change Tuesday that would have allowed for larger homes in Hogg Hummock, the last Gullah Geechee community on Georgia’s Sapelo Island.

Nearly 85% of residents voted against the measure, which sought to increase the maximum home size from 1,400 square feet to 3,000 square feet. Opponents feared the change would attract luxury developers and drive up property taxes, potentially displacing the remaining Gullah Geechee residents.

The community is home to descendants of enslaved West Africans who have lived on the island for generations. Its population has dwindled from roughly 500 people in the early 20th century to just 30 to 40 residents today.

The referendum marks only the second time in Georgia’s history that such a vote has been held. Legal experts say the outcome sets a significant precedent, empowering citizens across the state to challenge local government decisions through direct ballot measures.

The recent referendum in McIntosh County serves as a pivotal stress test for direct democracy in the American South, a region where citizen-led ballot initiatives remain remarkably rare. This scarcity is no historical accident; it is the legacy of post-Reconstruction institutional barriers designed to curtail the political agency of newly enfranchised Black communities.

The success of the Gullah Geechee community—a historic minority group—in navigating a thicket of municipal legal challenges to force a public vote marks a watershed moment. Beyond the immediate symbolic victory, the case establishes a significant legal precedent across the state of Georgia. By successfully leveraging the petition process to challenge local zoning ordinances, the Gullah Geechee have effectively decentralized land-use authority. This shift moves the needle of power away from elected officials and toward the electorate, providing a new mechanism for voters to override government-led development agendas.

Furthermore, the McIntosh County outcome underscores the growing convergence between cultural preservation and environmental policy. Sapelo Island is not merely a Gullah Geechee heritage site; it is a critical ecological asset. By halting unregulated real estate expansion, the community has secured the integrity of Georgia’s rare salt marsh ecosystems. In an era of increasing climate volatility, the protection of these marshlands—which serve as essential natural barriers and biodiversity hubs—demonstrates how local grassroots movements are increasingly dictated by the dual imperatives of social justice and environmental sustainability.

While this story doesn’t directly involve the Vietnamese-American experience, it highlights a universal struggle that resonates deeply within our community: the fight to preserve cultural heritage and ancestral land in the face of urban development and commercialization. From the bustling streets of Little Saigon to the families built on the resilience of the nail salon industry and phở restaurants, the effort to protect one’s roots from being erased by modern "progress" is a theme that hits home. For those of us who have navigated the complexities of F2B, H-1B, or EB-5 visas to build a life here while staying connected to our heritage through remittances, this story of cultural preservation is profoundly relatable.