PHILLIPS COMMUNITY, S.C. The Rev. Elijah Smalls Jr. once grew okra, butter beans and other vegetables in the neighborhood where his family has lived near the South Carolina coast since not long after the Civil War. That was before new half-a-million-dollar homes in a nearby subdivision overwhelmed the drainage system. Runoff…
By James Pollard | The Associated Press - Black landowners in historic settlement communities around Charleston, South Carolina are facing disputes with developers looking to make money on vacation getaways and new homes, as skyrocketing property taxes create a growing burden and assessments rise.
PHILLIPS COMMUNITY- The Rev. Elijah Smalls Jr. once grew okra, butter beans and other vegetables in the neighborhood where his family has lived near the South Carolina coast since not long after the Civil War. That was before new …
The clamor for these lands is so feverish that even people with clear titles remain vulnerable. James calls it “the next frontier in preserving African American property.”
All along the South Carolina coast, land owned by the descendants of enslaved people is being targeted by developers looking to make money on vacation getaways and new homes.