I live on an island off the coast of the USA in one of the last communities of our kind – but zoning means we are fighting extinction

RESIDENTS of a unique island community have spoken out as they fight against land-use changes that could force them to leave their land.

Black residents of the Hogg Hummock community on Georgia’s Sapelo Island have spoken out against zoning changes that could endanger their land.

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Hogg Hummock is one of the last remaining communities in the South of a people called the Gullah or Geechee, whose ancestors were enslaved.

Residents said the proposed changes would favor the wealthy and lead to tax increases – which could force some to sell their land.

But county commissioners voted 3-2 to ease zoning restrictions.

The maximum size of a home is now 3,000 square feet, up from 1,400 square feet.

Commissioner Davis Poole supported easing the size limit, saying it would “allow for a modest home in which an entire family can live under one roof.”

“The commissioners are not concerned with destroying the Gullah-Geechee culture or erasing the history of Sapelo,” Poole said.

“It’s not about making more money for the district.”

But residents aren’t convinced that’s true.

Yolanda Grovner, 54, of Atlanta, told the Associated Press about her plans to retire on her father’s land on the island – but now she’s not sure she’ll be able to.

“It’s going to be very, very difficult,” Grovner said.

“I think this is their way of driving residents off the island.”

Another resident, Maurice Bailey, said: “We still argue all the time.”

“They won’t stop. The people who move in here don’t respect us as people.

“They love our food, they love our culture. But they don’t love us.”