African American history on the Georgia coast matters – maybe now more than ever. Gullah-Geechee communities descended from Africans enslaved on coastal plantations have suffered through the natural process of young people seeking education and jobs elsewhere, but also through gentrification.

As coastal locations have become booming vacation and retirement destinations, as more and more land has been developed for upscale houses and condominiums, as African Americans are bought out and pushed out due to rising property taxes, their communities and their history are disappearing.