Land Loss, Wealth, and Reparations

Black farmers owned over 16 million acres of land in 1910, a time when black families owned “the largest amount of property they would ever own in the United States,” according to one scholar. These farmers were often respected in their communities, held civic leadership positions, and many were civil rights activists. Yet by the end of the 20th century, almost all black owned farmland—and the way of life—was gone. Black farmers faced widespread discrimination and violent reprisal from local white residents, as well as federal policy designed to drive them out of business.

We invite you to join us on October 16, 2019, for a panel presentation on black land loss, wealth, and reparations. The panel presentation is hosted by Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) and will be held in Harvard University’s Austin Hall North at 6:00 pm. The panelists will discuss their research estimating that black farmers have lost hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of land and income as a result of discrimination, the impact this loss has had on racial wealth inequality, and efforts to address these disparities through legal reform, certain policy initiatives, and reparations.

• Dania Francis, Assistant Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
• Darrick Hamilton, Executive Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University.
• Thomas Mitchell, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Program in Real Estate and Community Development Law, Texas A&M University School of Law.
• Bryce Wilson Stucki, independent researcher and journalist