BLM Charleston Demands Land Back: 7,000+ Acres to Gullah Geechee Stewardship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 24, 2026

Charleston, SC – Black Lives Matter Grassroots stands in full solidarity with the Charleston Reparations Taskforce and the Gullah Geechee community in demanding the immediate transfer of over 7,000 acres of plantation land, including Middleton Place, Boone Hall, and Magnolia Plantation, to permanent Gullah Geechee stewardship. We amplify the April 22, 2026, call and the 40-day ultimatum delivered to the plantation “owners”.

These lands, built with stolen labor and soaked in the blood of enslaved West African ancestors, now generate millions annually, while descendants face displacement. BLM Charleston chapter lead/task force member Marcus McDonald highlights the urgency: “We are facing an existential threat. At the current rate of land loss and displacement, it is clear that Gullah Geechee people are being ethnically cleansed from the lands which we built.” He adds, “I am a direct descendant of enslaved people who labored at Boone Hall Plantation, and it’s time to move past symbolic gestures. The transfer of this land to Gullah Geechee stewardship is a true step towards repair for the generations of violence and erasure of our contributions.” 

The proposed Gullah Geechee Reparations Reservation is not symbolic. Acknowledgment without material repair is hollow. True justice requires land, resources, and decision-making power to be transferred. The Reparations Reservation is a community-controlled pathway to permanent affordable housing, cultural preservation, sustainable agriculture, and real economic development in place of extraction.

This demand reflects BLM Grassroots’ core principle: repair must include land restitution and community control. We call on Middleton Place, Magnolia Plantation, and Boone Hall to respond within 40 days and enter formal dialogue toward land transfer and full reparative justice. 

Call to action:

• Follow BLM Charleston and amplify the Charleston Reparations Taskforce.

• Share the call: “Middleton + Boone Hall + Magnolia Plantation between now & 40 days, we DEMAND answers.”

• Pressure officials to support a Gullah Geechee Reparations Reservation.

• Donate to Black liberation organizations, including BLM Grassroots.

The fight for reparations is our fight. BLM Grassroots will organize, agitate, and demand until the land is returned and the harm is repaired.

Contact:
BLM Grassroots Communications Team
[email protected]