by giving heirs a way to prove ownership.
Mitchell is also working with lawmakers to introduce the Partition of Heirs Property Act, most recently
passed by the New York legislature and introduced in 10 other state legislatures, including Virginia’s. The
act would require “tenants in-common”, those living on the property, to come to an agreement about the
sale of the property rather than one heir being able to force a partition sale with a developer. The goal is to
help black families retain the asset of their families’ land, Mitchell says. “Stripping people of their real estate
is stripping them of their wealth,” he says.
Penniman and groups such as the Southeastern African American Farmers’ Organic Network and the Black
Family Land Trust are also working to help black, Latino and indigenous farmers secure ownership of land
and encourage new generations of farmers. “Ninety-eight per cent of rural land belongs to white people,
and that’s so imbalanced,” Penniman says. “Land is the scene of the crime, but she wasn’t the criminal.”
While there has been a substantial loss of land, Mitchell says, there is still room for cautious optimism about
preserving what’s left. “It’s an incredible and remarkable history that African Americans acquired 16 million
acres of land,” he says. “I focus on what happened after that.”
© Washington Post