The Land Holds Our Stories

The land holds so many stories. The trees have stood witness to generations of joys and sorrows. Our homes, our communities—these spaces are sacred. They carry our history, and from them, our stories are birthed.

For generations, Indigenous lands, sacred homes, and Black communities have been attacked, bombed, desecrated, colonized, gentrified, and disrespected. Today, that legacy continues to unfold on Sapelo Island.

Sapelo Island is home to Georgia’s Gullah Geechee community—descendants of enslaved West Afrikans who lived and labored on the island, and who, against all odds, have preserved their culture, language, and traditions. A feat many African Americans across the U.S. are striving to reconnect with and reclaim.

But now, Sapelo’s future is in jeopardy.

On April 16, 2025, residents of Sapelo Island, their families, and allies will stand before the Georgia Supreme Court in a landmark case to challenge a local zoning ordinance. This ordinance would allow for larger, wealthier residences to be built on the island—raising property taxes and threatening to displace longtime residents whose families have called Sapelo home for generations.

This is not just about zoning. This is about ancestral land rights, cultural survival, and justice for a community that has cared for this land for centuries.

If you can, join us in person on the steps of the Georgia Supreme Court. If not, tune in virtually via Zoom. Show your support. Stand in solidarity. Let it be known: the world is watching, and we will not allow the continued displacement, erasure, and commodification of sacred land, culture, and history.

This land is where our stories begin—and where they must be protected.

I chose Sapelo Island as the sacred ground for our first Sacred Woman Storyteller's Retreat because of its rich history, its beauty, and the strength of its people. If you are a Black woman ready to explore the fullness of your story—from girlhood to sacred womanhood—through memoir writing, documentary storytelling, and deep community, meet me on Sapelo Island this July.

Save the Dates

Georgia Supreme Court Hearing

📍Nathan Deal Judicial Center

330 Capitol Avenue SE, 1st Floor, Suite 1100

Atlanta, GA 30334

🕗 Gather at 8:00 AM (Hearing begins at 10:00 AM)

📅 April 16, 2025

🌿 Sacred Woman Storyteller's Retreat

📍Sapelo Island

📅 July 25 - 27, 2025

Summer J. Robinson

Publisher. Filmmaker. CEO. Building Silver Bangles Productions, a multidisciplinary storytelling agency committed to telling and elevating stories that inspire Afrikan diasporic intergenerational healing. We do this through book publications, TV, Film, and Documentary productions, programming, and education.