Civil rights lawyers demand Hilton Head group ‘center’ Gullah in growth discussions
A national civil rights legal advocacy group is raising alarms over whether Gullah-Geechee voices are being “meaningfully included” in decisions affecting their land.
The Legal Defense Fund, or LDF, released a series of letters Thursday questioning whether a town task force created to provide public input on growth management regulations has enough representation from Gullah Geechee residents.
“Our neighbors are once again making decisions for historic Native Islanders without fully including them,” said Tai Scott, Hilton Head Island business owner and community activist, in a press release.
The LDF is a national civil rights legal advocacy organization founded in 1940. Originally created by the NAACP, the organizations have been completely separate since 1957.
What’s this about?
The concerns center around the town’s recent efforts to update land use regulations managing growth and development on Hilton Head Island.
Late last year, town council created a Land Management Ordinance Task Force of 21 residents, industry representatives and civic leaders to weigh in on regulations aimed at curbing destructive growth and development.
Limits on tree cutting, subdivision density and the prohibition of commercial uses in certain areas are all things discussed by the task force.
The LDF argues that the representation of native islanders, who are Hilton Head’s “oldest property owners,” is insufficient on the task force.
In a series of four letters, the LDF pled the 21-member land management task force to “meaningfully include and protect” the interests of the Gullah community in the land management ordinance review process.
Native islanders, also referred to as the Gullah Geechee people, are descendants of formerly enslaved people who worked on plantations on the Sea Islands. After their emancipation during the Civil War, many Gullah Geechee families purchased property on Hilton Head and have held onto their land for generations.
Advocates worry that some of the proposed restrictions could take economic opportunities away from native islanders, whom they argue have historically faced barriers to taking advantage of booming growth and development on Hilton Head Island.
Three members of the Gullah Geechee communities were selected for the LMO task force, including the chair the Gullah Geechee Land & Cultural Preservation Task Force, the chair of the Gullah Geechee Historic Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation and a local Gullah-Geechee business owner who was selected for one of five resident seats.
In a Feb. 24 letter, attorneys Jason Bailey, David Wheaton, and Leah C. Aden argued that the rest of the task force members “largely represent business, development and hospitality interests connected to the PUDs,” making it easy for the perspectives of Native Islanders to be “overshadowed.” PUDs refer to planned unit developments; 70% of land on Hilton Head is made up gated communities such as Hilton Head Plantation, the Sea Pines Resort and Palmetto Dunes.
Follow-up letters, dated March 6 and March 13, raised alarms about proposed limitations to zoning, tree cutting and land use regulations reviewed during two previous task force meetings.
“It is essential that Gullah Geechee interests be intentionally centered — not merely acknowledged — in this LMO update process,” lawyers wrote in the Feb. 24 letter.
In a brief interview with The Island Packet, Land Management Ordinance Task Force Chair Steve DeSimone said he disagreed with the view that the voices of Gullah Geechee residents are not being heard.
“We’re listening,” DeSimone said. “This is made up of a diverse group of people and we’re listening to everyone.”
How did the town respond?
In a letter dated March 13, attorney Brittany Ward responded to the LDF’s concerns on behalf of the town. Ward wrote that the task force comprises a “diverse” array of community members that represent “a wide range of perspectives” including Gullah Geechee representatives.
Once the task force reaches a “consensus,” the amendments will “move through a public review process that includes consideration by the Gullah Geechee Land and Cultural Preservation Task Force,” as well as the Planning Commission, Community Development and Public Services Committee, and ultimately the Town Council, Ward wrote.
In a Thursday press release, the LDF criticized the evaluation process and slammed the town for failing to clearly answer their questions.
The group expressed concerns that the Gullah Geechee Land and Cultural Preservation Task Force has “no direct involvement in the process until months after deliberations, creating a serious risk that the task force’s recommendations will be adopted without the community’s meaningful input.”
According to a previous project timeline, the Gullah Geechee Land and Cultural Preservation Task Force will deliberate on the amendments in June.
Thursday’s meeting agenda included a memo from the Gullah Geechee Historic Neighborhoods Community Development Corporation with recommendations about proposed land use and zoning. The memo was attached to the end of the 66-page agenda packet, and the recommendations were not discussed in detail or read out loud during the meeting.
‘We’re listening’
DeSimone, who also represents Ward 3 on the town council, acknowledged that there was a lot the task force “didn’t get to” during last Thursday’s meeting. Anything that hadn’t been discussed, the task force will pick up and discuss at the next meeting to ensure nothing is “skipped over,” he said.
In his view, the task force is “doing exactly what we put it together for.”
“And that’s to have open discussions about how to move forward and fix some of the things that were wrong in the past,” DeSimone said.
This story was originally published March 30, 2026 at 9:19 AM.
