Josephine Wright scores posthumous victory in fight to keep family’s ancestral Hilton Head Island home
The settlement with Bailey Point Investment acknowledges the Wright family as owners of the property in the middle of a proposed 29-acre subdivision, and a privacy fence will separate the two.
Josephine Wright, a Black woman who spent her last days fighting developers to protect her family’s ancestral home in South Carolina has scored a posthumous victory against the company.
According to The Guardian, the family of Wright — who died in January at 94 — has reached a settlement preventing Bailey Point Investment from contacting them about purchasing the land.
The settlement acknowledges the Wright family — which includes her four children, 40 grandchildren and dozens of great- and great-great-grandchildren — as the legal owners of the Hilton Head Island property located in the middle of Bailey Point’s proposed 29-acre subdivision. A privacy fence is going up to separate the two.
Bailey Point was granted local authority in 2022 to construct a neighborhood of 147 residential units around Wright’s property. The construction firm approached Wright to purchase her land, but she refused.
The city would only give Bailey Point a certificate of conformity once the firm reached a deal with Wright, and in February 2023, the company filed a lawsuit alleging that her home encroached on its land.
Wright said the company used bullying, intimidation and harassing techniques against her after she declined to sell, including polluting her house and land and cutting her shrubs. She claimed they even attempted to bypass her by dealing with other relatives.
Recommended Stories
Her story sparked a nationwide uproar and garnered support from celebrities, including Tyler Perry, who pledged to construct a new home for Wright on the land; Kyrie Irving, who donated $40,000; and Snoop Dogg, who gave $10,000. Other people contributed to a GoFundMe campaign that raised over $350,000.
Wright and her late husband, Samuel Wright Jr., moved from New York City to Hilton Head Island about 30 years ago in search of peace and tranquility, The Guardian reported. Wright Jr.’s family, who were Gullah Geechee, has long owned 1.8 acres of land on the island.
The Gullah Geechee people who lived on Hilton Head possessed most of the land after the Civil War. About 98% of people in Hilton Head were Black by 1880, compared to the 77% white population today. As of 2021, relatives of Gullah Geechees on Hilton Head Island held only 8% of the total residential acreage, down 70% from 1995.
Black homeowners on Hilton Head Island have long fought against the land’s ongoing gentrification and acquisition, which started in 1957 with the construction of a gated community of 5,200 acres containing four golf courses.
According to The Guardian, Wright’s family plans to use the recently established Josephine Wright Foundation to help others in similar circumstances.
Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrio’s newsletter.
