HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (WTGS) — The ongoing legal battle between a 93-year-old Hilton head woman and the development company demanding her property continues.
Josephine Wright is being sued for her land, and she spoke about it at a press conference outside of Town Hall on Thursday.
“What I want them to do is just leave me alone,” Wright said.
She’s asking for peace and quiet in her home. But her granddaughter Charise Graves said that hasn’t been the case since last year.
“Unbeknownst to us, they just started tearing trees down, you know, our house was shaking like it was an earthquake. They didn’t even have the decency to let us know that this was happening,” Graves said.
Bailey Point Investment LLC is developing 27 acres for 147 units. When Wright refused to sell them her property, she said they sued.
“What they did was serve me with improper papers. Which caused me to have to get an attorney that would cost a lot of money,” Wright said. “However, they also claimed I encroached on their property that was next to mine.”
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Wright has seven children, 40 grandchildren, 50 great-grand children and 16 great-great grandchildren. They all want to keep this historic property in the family, saying it’s a haven and symbol of generational wealth.
“When we have conversations about systemic injustices, and the fact that Black folk are separated from their land, this is what we’re talking about. This doesn’t just affect one young lady. But this affects an entire family,” civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers said.
Sellers is not one of Wright’s attorneys, but he said he is standing by her and raising awareness on the issue of developing historic Gullah land against the wishes of property owners.
“Although this is about a Black lady owning her property, this isn’t really a Black and white issue. This is about a right and wrong issue,” Sellers said.
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They said they’ve received an outpouring of support from the Hilton Head community and beyond. Sellers said Wright’s story is personal for many Black families.
“There’s certain things in law I don’t want to do. And one of them is serve a 93-year-old woman. I don’t think it helps you get into heaven,” Sellers said.
We reached out to Bailey Point’s attorney with a request for comment but did not receive a response.
