Descendants of West African slaves in Plantersville,South Carolina are fighting to prevent their land from being confiscated and auctioned.

Rev. Benjamin Grate is bringing awareness to a decade-long problem local authorities in Georgetown County have chosen to ignore. “We have been gathering for many years to fight this illegal and racist tax,” Grate said. “This tax was only given to the black residents of Plantersville – the white residents were exempt. ...These taxes are unjust and it was a conspiracy to bind the tax to our household taxes, so when we cannot pay them, our homes and our property are taken away from us.”

Some that are affected by these unjust taxes are retired people on fixed incomes who say they simply can't afford to pay $250 a year for the next 20 years.

Chaney Adams, Gov. Nikki Haley’s press secretary, told the Times that the governor has taken some preliminary steps to assist the group.“We ... have asked that the state Office of Economic Opportunity work with the Waccamaw Economic Opportunity Council to determine if these residents in the Georgetown community are eligible for assistance,” Adams said.

The governor's press secretary made that statement on July 2016, and to date Rev. Grate indicated that there has been no follow up taken on the part of the governor's office. Craig Link,Legislative Director and Counsel for Congressman Clyburn also stated to Rev. Grate that someone would get back to him to discuss the issue in more detail, but has yet to do so. Additionally, Pat Green, Director of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, has not reached out to this community in crisis to determine if an injustice actually exist.

Time, unfortunately is not a friend to the Black residents that reside in Plantersville. Signing this petition could get Rev Benjamin Grate and the other residents of Plantersville the help they so desperately need in removing the tax being levied against them, returning seized property to individuals that fell victim to this unjust tax burden, and to look at the potential criminality of applying this tax to only the Black residents in that community. Help to preserve this community and it's significant cultural legacy.