A South Carolina family has reached a settlement after fighting to save their ancestral land from a developer who tried to take down the home to make way for a subdivision. The property at the center of the dispute belongs to Josephine Wright, a Gullah-Geechee woman who recently died at age 94 after fighting valiantly to save her home at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The home, which was originally bought by a freed slave after the Civil War and passed down for generations, is located in a quite area at Hilton Head Island, surrounded by huge trees, South Carolina Public Radio reported.
In 2023, however, Wright faced a lawsuit from a developer who said the 94-year-old is disrupting their plans for the land. Wright then hired a civil rights attorney to help her fight for her home. As her story spread around the country, Wright also received support from celebrities such as Snoop Dog, Kyrie Irving and Tyler Perry, The Guardian reported.
The massive effort from Wright and her supporters has now paid off. According to spokesperson Altimese Nichole, developer Bailey Point Investment, LLC has been ordered to stop contacting the family about taking the land. The settlement also mandates the developer to the fix the roof on the house and to build a privacy fence between the home and the new construction area. Additionally, the developer is ordered to provide landscape for the family’s land.
“The family is grateful to have settled,” Nichole said in a statement, per South Carolina Public Radio. “They’re focused on keeping the legacy of Mrs. Josephine Wright alive.”
In an effort to help other homeowners who may also need to preserve their land, Wright’s family has now launched the Josephine Wright Foundation. The family is also getting additional support from Tyler Perry, who has promised to build them a new home.
Wright and her late husband Samuel Wright Jr. left New York City about 30 years ago and moved to Jonesville, a quiet neighborhood at Hilton Island named after Caesar Jones, a civil war veteran who brought property in the area.
Developer Bailey Point received town approval in 2022 and attempted to build a neighborhood with 147 housing units, surrounding Wright’s property. The longtime Hilton Island resident stood firm to protect her house, even refusing to sell her home when the developer gave her an offer.
Wright said the developer tried to bully her and tried to make deals with her family without her knowledge. Wright’s resilience has now paid off. Her legacy now be carried by her four children and 40 grandchildren, as well as great grandchildren.
