The Tax Auction Block

<p>With its luxury resorts and golf courses, Hilton Head, South Carolina, is a popular vacation hotspot. But the island is also home to the Gullah Geechee; descendants of formerly enslaved West Africans who have owned land on the island since their ancestors were freed. </p><p>However, every year Gullah Geechee families are in danger of losing their land to investors at Beaufort County's tax auction. If a family falls behind on its property taxes, the land goes up for auction; and that can happen for as little as a few-hundred dollars in back-taxes. </p><p>On this episode of Into America, Trymaine Lee speaks with Marine Corp veteran Joseph Walters Jr, who has come close to losing his land two years in a row. And Trymaine talks with members of the Gullah Geechee community who are trying to stop this cycle: <a href="https://marshviewcommunityorganicfarm.com/" target="_blank">Marshview Community Organic Farms</a> owner Sará Reynolds Green, and <a href="https://panafricanfamilyempowermentnetwork.org/" target="_blank">Pan African Family Empowerment & Land Preservation Network</a> founder Theresa White. Green and White are both part of a network of Gullah advocates raising awareness (and funds) to help people hold onto their land, and the culture that comes with it. </p><p>For a transcript, please visit <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/intoamerica" target="_blank">https://www.msnbc.com/intoamerica</a>. </p><p>Thoughts? Feedback? Story ideas? Write to us at <a href="mailto:intoamerica@nbcuni.com" target="_blank">intoamerica@nbcuni.com.</a></p><p><strong>Further Reading and Listening: </strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://into-america.simplecast.com/episodes/justice-for-black-farmers" target="_blank">Into America: Justice for Black Farmers</a></li><li><a href="https://into-america.simplecast.com/episodes/blood-on-black-wall-street-what-was-stolen" target="_blank">Into America: Blood on Black Wall Street, What Was Stolen</a></li></ul>