In the historic St. Galilee Community of Hancock County Georgia, property owners are being threatened by a PRIVATE railroad company from Sandersville, Georgia and a Heildeberg Quarry expansion. The railroad has started the process of acquiring property. The proposed train route will run through wetlands, beautiful backyards and homes where the elderly live. This train will pollute, damage nearby homes, negatively impact the wildlife and shatter the community.

We NEED your support to STOP this train.

This situation is another example of the unfortunate legacy of Black land loss (or theft to be more exact) by both public and private entities in this country who have used eminent domain as a weapon against Black communities. Between 1910 and 1990, Black land owners in the United States lost about 90% of land they once possessed. It is estimated that of the THOUSANDS of historic Black communities established in this country, only about 30 remain today.

Many members of this community have roots on their lands and property that trace back to the antebellum (pre-civil war) period or shortly after. Many of these members are elderly and have deep sentimental and historic ties to their land and properties. What the Sandersville Railroad Company and Heidelberg Quarry are attempting to do are explicit and overt acts of racial and environmental injustice that will destroy the integrity of this community. Ultimately it is an assault on human dignity. We have to take action NOW. We must set a clear precedent that we will not continue to allow our communities to be dismantled by corporate interests and push people to the margins, or destroy vital ecosystems for the sake of money. Now more than ever we have to display solidarity and people power to prevent this from happening here or anywhere else. 

"An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.