Displaced Gullah Geechee Descendants Make Efforts To Return Home (Savannah: plantation, beaches)

[pink caddy]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

I'm viewing his statement for what it is; if you choose to ignore it, then that's on you. And what the heck does Obama have to do with this? Just throwing anything to the wall to see what'll stick huh?

Not really. And I don't choose to ignore certain statements of implied agendas and just leave them on the table.

[SavannahLife]

Originally Posted by pink caddy

Not really. And I don't choose to ignore certain statements of implied agendas and just leave them on the table.

^ and this is a good thing pink. Although I don't think this issue should have any discussion about race or Obama.

it is about, they were there originally (well, after native Americans, let's get real) and now the county is artificially trying to kick them out through jacking taxes up hundreds of percent which will at the same time may (not will, but might sometime in the future) result in mcmansions all over the island in 20 years, which would be unfortunate for us all. The fair thing would seem to be, leave the place the way it is, including letting them maintain their existing property tax rates while letting the market dictate rates for new buyers. That's it. The island is already great the way it is now.

[912]

Originally Posted by pink caddy

Perhaps then you should not view his thinking as "implicitly racist"? Less stress on the stomach. Aren't we suppose to move forward with Obama's "one world" concept ie: one standard? Cuts both way right?

I agree. Especially when you note that I am the token AA on this board.

In other words, I'm a brotha. I'm black. These are my people we're talking about on these Islands.

[SavannahLife]

Yes and I am supporting them. To keep their community and homes. And the beach of Sapelo, like most all our Georgia islands... is for all of us to enjoy. Not the select few who take it over and turn it into a private club. Wait I am getting confused. is anyone referring to me as "his"!? LOL. Or mutiny or who. Anyway this is not or at any rate should not be a racial issue, it is a land planning debate, for the future of a unique area.

[pink caddy]

Originally Posted by SavannahLife

Yes and I am supporting them. To keep their community and homes. And the beach of Sapelo, like most all our Georgia islands... is for all of us to enjoy. Not the select few who take it over and turn it into a private club. Wait I am getting confused. is anyone referring to me as "his"!? LOL. Or mutiny or who. Anyway this is not or at any rate should not be a racial issue, it is a land planning debate, for the future of a unique area.

LOL

bud abbott and lou costello who's on first

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by 912

I agree. Especially when you note that I am the token AA on this board.

In other words, I'm a brotha. I'm black. These are my people we're talking about on these Islands.

"Token AA"? WOW.

That makes what you said even worse, but I'm not going down that route.

[ellie]

Originally Posted by 912

I agree. Especially when you note that I am the token AA on this board.

In other words, I'm a brotha. I'm black. These are my people we're talking about on these Islands.

There are several regular posters on this board who are black. So much for tokenism.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by SavannahLife

have to confess I had no idea what 912 was getting at. I think I do now?? I meant using a market based approach of keeping taxes at original assessments in order to help the original African Americans that live there now which will also serve to conserve the rustic and beautiful feel of this unique island and their unique culture. If you have not been there it would be hard to understand and so if you have not been there, get there. 912 it aint' far from your area code! About an hour. If you haven't visited, jump in the car, go visit, come back, please share your thoughts. I expect your mind will be blown if you have never been there. In a good way!

I said if people want to build new homes there, this is America, it would not be democratic to stop them. Let them. But also let the original owners maintain historic property assessments unless and until they sell to a new buyer.

Agreed. Neighboring Glynn County has a similar plan in place.
Assessments on primary residences are frozen when owners turn 70. The county keeps track of real assessed values and accrues the would-be additional taxes to be paid upon the sale of the property. It helps the fixed-income crowd hold on to their homes in a area where home values are rapidly increasing.
Frankly, l don't see the merit in lowering the tax boom on a handful of Sapelo residents that have limited economic opportunities. It can't make that much difference in terms of revenue, and most are now quite elderly.

[Newsboy]

HERE'S THE THING: There are only a few dozen slave descendants remaining on Sapelo. And when they're gone, you better believe their heirs will sell to the highest bidder. There are NO young people on the island. They've been leaving for years and aren't coming back. And who can blame them? In this day and age, how many young African Americans are willing to live a life of hardship and poverty -- when their ancestors sit on land worth millions of dollars?

The best thing for all involved -- IMO -- is to establish a federally or state operaed historic site that would set aside so much land to preserve the Gullah-Geechee culture and educate future generations. Allow everyone there now to stay without penalty, and those who want to profit from the sale of their property to do so.

My grandfather paid $20/ acre for 100 acres of farmland in 1940. When my grandma died in 2001, she still owned 38 acres valued at more than $3 million. And had not paid one cent in property tax for years.

[SavannahLife]

Right. If the current African-American residents CHOOSE to stay, they can keep their original tax rate. (which is FAIR because they don't get any government SERVICES) If they CHOOSE to sell, they can. And when yupsters come in and build mansions, then THEY will pay a new higher tax rate.

How this is controversial and warranted everyone attacking and more bizarrely yet calling me racist I have no idea.

News have you been there? There are youngsters. We were told they were going to school. (grade school, boarding the boat on the way out in the morning) Not many, I'll grant you. And that is perhaps in no small part thanks to the greedy (white) County Assessors trying as best they can to kick off all the remaining residents, so they can build McMansions. And, will much of the younger generation sell out? Perhaps. It is their choice. But, let them be the ones to make their own choice. Artificially jacking up their tax rate forces them to sell.

Asking people basically on subsistence living to pay what a yupster would, how on Earth is this controversial here. And, it would be a loss for us all, actually. Once the McMansions go in they'll find a way to slowly chip away at the public land on the rest of the island. Both visitors and residents alike benefit from it being one of the last quiet, serene places in the country. If you haven't been there, then go, enjoy, come back and share your experiences.