Smalls and his relatives in Phillips Community are the many Black families still living in historic settlement communities around Charleston. Like others all along the South Carolina coast, their land is being targeted by developers of vacation getaways and new homes. And as real estate prices rise from Myrtle Beach to Hilton Head, Black property owners have found themselves embroiled in disputes with investors and their own relatives. The 93-year-old woman is the matriarch of a family that has owned land on Hilton Head Island since Reconstruction. —-The first self-governed town of formerly enslaved people in the United States was on Hilton Head Island.

Source: ABC News August 12, 2023 18:56 UTC