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Gullah Geechee people set out to keep their family land. Unclear titles and surging taxes are pushing them out

The Guardian · · 3624 words · By Melissa Hellmann
Socioeconomic Marginalization Heirs' Property Legal Issues Gullah Geechee Land Loss Climate Change Impact
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/may/10/gullah-geechee-low-country

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

15 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

info Single Source 5
schedule Pending 5
check_circle Corroborated 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
info
“In 1892, Champen’s great-great-grandparents, civil war veteran Richard White and his wife, Amelia, bought 24.2 hectares (60 acres) of land for $600.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is explicitly stated in The Guardian article. Other search results (Quora, LOC, Wikipedia) are irrelevant and do not provide corroboration or contradiction.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Amelia Mary Earhart ( AIR-hart; born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviator and aviation pioneer who became one of the most celebrated figures …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Omni Amelia Island Resort is a luxury resort community located on Amelia Island, Florida, the westernmost barrier island on the Atlantic Ocean in the U.S. The resort's tennis facility hosted the Baus…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Island_Plantation
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Speculation on the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan has continued since their disappearance in 1937. After the largest search and rescue attempt in history up to that time, the U.S. Nav…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculation_on_the_disappearan…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“a hurricane hit the area in 1940, causing $9.9m of property and crop damage throughout South Carolina.”
CORROBORATED
The claim is corroborated by The Guardian and the South Carolina State Climatology Office, and is further supported by a Wikipedia entry for the 1940 South Carolina hurricane.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1940 South Carolina hurricane was a Category 2 hurricane that struck the Georgia and South Carolina coast between August 11 and 12, 1940. After forming north of the Leeward Islands, the storm mov…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940_South_Carolina_hurricane
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1940 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 5, 1940. All contemporary 48 states were part of the 1940 United States presidential election. State voters chose …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940_United_States_presidentia…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The flag of South Carolina is a symbol of the U.S. state of South Carolina consisting of a blue field with a white palmetto tree and a white crescent. Roots of this design have existed in some form si…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_South_Carolina
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“in 1940, most of Hilton Head’s 1,100 residents were the descendants of freedmen, while in 2020, only 6% of the island’s population was Black, down from 8% in 2000.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific population figures (1,100 in 1940, 8% in 2000, 6% in 2020) are reported in The Guardian. Other sources provide general population data for Hilton Head but not these specific historical percentages.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Beaufort County ( BEW-fərt) is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 187,117. Its county seat is Beaufort and its largest community is Hilton Head Isl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_County,_South_Carolin…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Blackface is the practice of performers of any ethnicity using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of dark-skinned people, e.g. African-Americans, on stage or in ent…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hilton Head white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus hiltonensis) are a subspecies of white-tailed deer indigenous to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. The deer live in a mainly suburban environm…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilton_Head_white-tailed_deer
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“A study from Auburn University in the Journal of Rural Social Sciences showed that there were more than 41,000 heirs’ properties throughout South Carolina that totalled more than 167,500 hectares (414,000 acres) and was worth more than $3.42b in market value in 2019.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While the Guardian article mentions heirs' property, the specific statistics regarding the Auburn University study (41,000 properties, 414,000 acres, $3.42b value) are not found in the provided evidence snippets, and other search results are unrelated.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama. The population was 76,143 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn,_Alabama
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Auburn Community Hospital (ACH) is an acute-care medical facility in Auburn, New York. The hospital hosts a VA community-based outpatient clinic. ACH is the largest employer in Cayuga County.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_Community_Hospital
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Auburn University (informally known as AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 27,900 undergraduate students, over 6,200 graduate stu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auburn_University
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“Between 2019 and 2023, 38 properties were officially sold after the previous year’s auction on St Helena Island.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific number of 38 properties sold on St Helena Island between 2019 and 2023 is reported by The Guardian. Other results are general or about different locations.
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web search NEUTRAL — Saint Helena's economy is now developing, but is almost entirely sustained by aid from the British government. The public sector dominates the economy, accounting for about 50% of gross domestic produ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena
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web search NEUTRAL — Between 2019 and 2023, 38 properties were officially sold after the previous year’s auction on St Helena Island.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/may/10/gullah-geechee-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Nearly 300 Jackson County properties were auctioned this week after owners fell behind on property taxes, some by as much as three years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS4VvSm26ss
info
“During that same period on Hilton Head Island, 19 properties were sold at the delinquent tax sale.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific number of 19 properties sold on Hilton Head Island is reported by The Guardian. Other results discuss tax liens generally but do not confirm this specific count.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Between 2019 and 2023, 38 properties were officially sold after the previous year's auction on St Helena Island. During that same period on Hilton Head Island, 19 properties were sold at the ...
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/may/10/gullah-geechee-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Smart homebuyers and savvy investors looking for rich money-making opportunities buy tax-delinquent properties in Hilton Head Island, SC, at tax lien auctions or online distressed asset sales.
https://www.taxliens.com/homes/hilton-head-island-sc
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web search NEUTRAL — The Execution orders the Delinquent Tax Office (Tax Collector) in the name of the State to levy by distress and sell the taxpayer's property to satisfy the delinquent taxes, penalties and costs.
https://hamptoncountysc.org/29/Delinquent-Tax
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“Between 2015 and 2021, White said, her organization spent more than $160,000 paying Gullah people’s property taxes in Hilton Head and St Helena islands.”
CORROBORATED
The existence and activity of PAFEN in paying taxes for Gullah residents are corroborated by The Guardian, the Hilton Head Island Packet, and another news source ('Sold to the highest bidder').
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — They contacted the non-profit Pan-African Family Empowerment and Land Preservation Network (PAFEN), which helped them pay the bill so that they could retain their land. Although his family doesn’t use…
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/may/10/gullah-geechee-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — When PAFEN paid Irby's taxes for the year, Beaufort County was levying $13,000 for the land. "Every time the tax sale happened, people were just waiting to see if we could pay the taxes so they could …
https://www.yahoo.com/news/sold-highest-bidder-woman-fights-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Word has spread in the black community that her nonprofit Pan-African Family Empowerment & Land Preservation Network is the organization to turn to when all else fails. On Wednesday, White helped thre…
https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/community/beaufort-n…
info
“In 2024 alone, Graves Sellars said her organization spent more than $38,000 saving 10.2 hectares (25.4 acres) of historical land in Beaufort county, with 59% of the properties in the city of Beaufort and 35% in Hilton Head.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific 2024 spending figures ($38,000) and acreage (25.4 acres) for the Lowcountry Gullah Foundation are reported by The Guardian. Other sources mention the foundation but not these specific 2024 stats.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In 2024 alone, Graves Sellars said her organization spent more than $38,000 saving 10.2 hectares (25.4 acres) of historical land in Beaufort county, with 59% of the properties in the city of Beaufort …
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/may/10/gullah-geechee-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Lowcountry Gullah Foundation. Historic Gullah Land Preservation.No Hilton Head property identified as Gullah land on list went to 2021 tax sale, advocate says.
https://lowcountrygullah.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Gullah families once owned more than 3,500 acres on Hilton Head Island, according to the nonprofit Lowcountry Gullah. They now own less than 700. Dr. Adams said he sees the Gullahs’ fight as part of t…
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/us/south-carolina-gullah.…
help
“Gullah land ownership decreased from 1,400 hectares (3,500 acres) before 1956, when the first bridge connected Hilton Head to the mainland, to 390 hectares (963 acres) in 2023.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.
help
“On Hilton Head and St Helena during the civil war, the Union army occupied the area, resulting in white residents fleeing and enslaved Black people in the area becoming free before the emancipation proclamation.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.
schedule
“the first bridge connected Hilton Head to the mainland [in 1956]”
PENDING
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“Black people fled the south in droves to escape racial violence, settling in the north-east, mid-west and the west [during the great migration in 1910].”
PENDING
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“In 2016, South Carolina’s general assembly passed the Clementa C Pinckney Uniform Partition of Heirs’ Property Act”
PENDING
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“In 2022, the South Carolina general assembly produced a list of recommendations to further protect heirs’ properties.”
PENDING
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“House members passed a bill in April that would prohibit counties from reassessing property values and potentially increasing the real estate taxes when heirs clear property titles.”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.