Current:Home > ContactWoman, who fended off developers in Hilton Head Island community, has died at 94 -StockHorizon
Woman, who fended off developers in Hilton Head Island community, has died at 94
View
Date:2025-04-15 05:03:30
A woman on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island who drew national attention from stars such as Tyler Perry and Snoop Dogg as she fought off developers in her final years has died, according to a publicist for her family. She was 94.
Josephine Wright came to embody the development pressures displacing residents of historic African American communities in the beautiful South Carolina coastal town and around the country. An investment firm sued her early last year over alleged property encroachments on a proposed 147-unit neighborhood near land her late husband’s family had owned for more than a century.
“Her legacy as a pillar of strength, wisdom, and commitment to justice will forever remain etched in our hearts,” the family wrote in a statement after her death Sunday at her Hilton Head home. A cause of death was not mentioned.
Wright moved around 30 years ago from New York City to the historic Gullah neighborhood of Jonesville — named for a Black Civil War veteran who escaped slavery and purchased land there. She and her late husband sought peace while he suffered from Parkinson’s disease. The couple thought they’d found the perfect quiet place in the same spot where his ancestors once took refuge.
The Brooklyn-born matriarch was a dedicated community participant and a hard-working woman. She raised seven children and recounted terms as president of three different Parent Teacher Associations. She returned twice to school for certificates in computer science and insurance. She also helped out her husband’s law office until he could afford a secretary and worked for a time in the New York City Department of Transportation’s legal department.
“You have run your race and fought an incredible fight!” Perry, the actor and filmmaker, wrote in an Instagram post. “Journey well my dear lady. You have inspired me.”
The Hilton Head home became a “sanctuary” for a family that totals some four remaining children, 40 grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren, six great-great-grandchildren, two Cockapoo dogs and a Shih Tzu, according to Charise Graves, one of Wright’s granddaughters, who spoke with The Associated Press last summer.
Graves fondly recalled trips there as a teenager.
“Everybody comes here, everybody visits,” she said.
The hope was that future generations would also enjoy it. Whether they’ll withstand the developer’s lawsuit, or any future growth, remains to be seen. According to the most recently published online court records, a third party had been appointed to resolve the dispute. Altimese Nichole, the family’s public relations representative, said conversations about a settlement are ongoing.
Wright held strong against offers to give up the land.
“Why haven’t I? Because I want to keep my property and I don’t want to sell,” Wright told The Associated Press last summer of the offers she’d declined in recent years.
“I just want to be able to live here in this sanctuary with a free mind,” Wright said.
—-
Pollard is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
veryGood! (65)
Related
- Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
- Judge sides with 16 states, putting on pause Biden’s delay of consideration of gas export projects
- 62-year-old woman arrested in death of Maylashia Hogg, a South Carolina teen mother-to-be
- Supreme Court refuses to hear bite mark case
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Bold and beautiful: James Wood’s debut latest dividend from Nationals' Juan Soto deal
- Gun policy debate now includes retail tracking codes in California
- USMNT eliminated from Copa America after loss to Uruguay: Highlights, score
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Supreme Court rules Trump has immunity for official acts in landmark case on presidential power
Ranking
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- Judge issues ruling that protects a migrant shelter that Texas sought to close
- USA TODAY Editor-in-Chief Terence Samuel leaves Gannett after one year
- José Raúl Mulino sworn in as Panama’s new president, promises to stop migration through Darien Gap
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Prosecutor won’t oppose Trump sentencing delay in hush money case after high court immunity ruling
- US gives key approval to Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm in New Jersey
- Badminton Star Zhang Zhijie Dead At 17 After Collapsing On Court During Match
Recommendation
South Korea's acting president moves to reassure allies, calm markets after Yoon impeachment
Video shows man leave toddler on side of the road following suspected carjacking: Watch
A drunken boater forever changed this woman's life. Now she's on a mission.
In wake of Supreme Court ruling, Biden administration tells doctors to provide emergency abortions
Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
Shrinking drug coverage puts Americans in a medical (and monetary) bind
What's a personality hire? Here's the value they bring to the workplace.
Deadline extended to claim piece of $35 million iPhone 7, Apple class action lawsuit