Tyler Perry to build home for 93-year-old woman fighting to keep her historical property

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (WTOC/Gray News) - A 93-year-old Hilton Head Island resident has become the center of a fight for her legacy in what developers believe is their land.

WTOC reports that the dispute has attracted national attention, but it has also turned Josephine Wright’s tranquil golden years into a whirlwind of legal battles and media interviews.

Much of the nation is now referring to her as Grandma Josephine after her first TV interview went viral, thanks to actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry.

The 93-year-old has gained traction and from people worldwide.

Since her overnight fame, life for Wright has been anything but normal, and some say she is the new face of what fighting for a legacy truly means.

Construction crews are not an uncommon sight to her either, as developers have been reportedly coming in and around her neighborhood for years.

“They already took nearby property and the one across the street. They just were taking over until me,” Wright said.

According to Wright’s family, developers have indeed hit a roadblock.

“They didn’t know who they were dealing with, but I knew who they were dealing with because I grew up with her,” said Charise Graves, Wright’s granddaughter.

Developers are claiming that her back porch is encroaching on their land.

Since the legal battle started, Wright said it has been anything but quiet for her. However, she is grateful for the she has received.

“I am overwhelmed with all of that, and I never dreamed of any of this,” Wright said.

And her reality just keeps getting wilder, including getting another phone call from Perry.

“He asked if there was anything we needed and I said, “You know, I would love a five-bedroom house.’ And he said, ‘Done,’” Wright said.

In just a few weeks, that promise is about to become a reality.

According to the family, the layout of the new home will be finished next month.

Luana Grave-Sellars, the founder of the Lowcountry Gullah Foundation on Hilton Head Island, said that Wright’s story, although a heartbreaking one, is not an uncommon one.

“Land loss is really going away rapidly for Gullah families, developers and people who just want to live here are actively trying to take over the land,” Grave-Sellars said.

The Gullah are an African American ethnic group who live in the Lowcountry regions of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

According to the foundation, in 1956, Hilton Head Island had 3,500 acres of Gullah land. Today, it’s less than 900.

“When the land is gone, the culture is gone, and when the culture is gone, it’s just another place,” Grave-Sellars said.

It’s a battle she never thought she would need to be in, but it has become a new legacy attached to the Wright name.

“Even though I was pushed into something, God has made me just open the doors and gave me the way,” Wright said.

Graves added, “When you see people like her, you see that you can do it. She is doing this for us, for her family. She does not want to quit, and she won’t.”

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