Tyler Perry has stepped in to help stop a 93-year-old woman from losing the home that has been in her family since the Civil War.
Josephine Wright, a grandmother of 40, has revealed that property developers are attempting to force her from her bungalow in Hilton Head, Carolina, as it sits in the middle of land that Bailey Point Investment is seeking to build upon.
Bailey Point initially tried to buy Wright's property from her, but she refused. They have since sued her, claiming that parts of her property were on land that they owned.
Via the Mail, Wright said, "I've been pretty much a fighter all my life. It puzzled me at first. But then it got me angry."
Perry, an esteemed TV and movie director, and producer, who was at one point the highest-paid man in entertainment, saw Wright's story during a local news report and has now said he wants to help.
Posting on Instagram, Perry said, ''I've pretty much been a fighter all my life' said 93-year-old Josephine Wright. Well, that makes two of us. Ms. Wright, please tell me where to show up and what you need to help you fight."
Perry's post drew a ton of support, with film producer Will Packer replying, "I also got Ms. Josephine's back. Count me in TP." while singer Fantasia commented, "I will stand with you as well Tyler."
Speaking to WSAV, Wright explained that the property had been her family's home for generations.
"This house means it's a home, a place where I want to be at this age," she explained.
The 93-year-old's husband was a Gullah Geechee islander, descendants of Africans enslaved on rice, indigo, and Sea Island cotton plantations of the lower Atlantic coast along the Carolinas. His relatives were freed by Union soldiers after escaping slavery.
Bailey Point's construction plans, meanwhile, involve 147 units being built across a 29-acre site. When they were rebuffed in their efforts to buy Wright's property, the grandmother claimed a campaign of harassment began. Wright has claimed that her tired have been slashed, trash thrown at her property and even a snake hung from one of her windows.
Bailey Point's lawsuit against Wright claims that her porch is on their land and that she is blocking the progress of their construction. Wright has already paid to move a shed at a cost of $1,900 and a satellite dish, but the lawsuit is still ongoing. Now former State Representative Bakari Sellers is working with her legal team and is asking people to call Bailey Point and lawmakers to help Wright keep her home.
Via the Mail, Sellers said, "We sent a letter two weeks ago simply asking the developer to communicate. Simply asking the developer to speak to us. Speak to her. Just to have a common conversation about how to move forward. I think more disrespectful than a no is a non-response."
Wright does have a lawyer, but her family is also looking for help with the enormous legal bills involved in such a case. A GoFundMe has been set up to help with the legal expenses.
Sellers added: "We are very big on generational wealth, or trying to accrue it. When you talk about poverty in our communities it's because we don't have land, and when we do, people want to take it away. There are a lot of people to pick on. Pick on me. Don't pick on a 93-year-old woman who has lived her life doing nothing wrong."
Perry, 53, is no stranger to helping out seniors in need of aid. In February he donated $2.75 million to help low-income seniors with their property tax payments through the Invest Atlanta Partnership nonprofit. He also hosts annual food giveaways around Thanksgiving. His further charitable efforts also include building a house for a great-grandmother of seven who lost everything she owned in a fire.
