Hudson Bennett is a law student in the HLS Food Law & Policy Clinic and a guest contributor to this blog.
Screening and Panel
Host: Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics, Moderated by Andrew Kahrl
Panelists: Eternal Polk, P.J. Haynie, and Johane Domersant
“Once land is gone, you can’t get it back.”—P.J. Haynie, farmer featured in the film and the panel.
The film is a documentary addressing the astounding reduction in land owned by Black farmers in the United States. It’s a powerful depiction of the historical and continuing circumstances that Black landowners have faced in the United States and blends personal stories with legal and socioeconomic context to give a complete and impactful picture. It also effectively presents a call to action, illustrating a clear and impactful path on how to effectively work to mitigate some of the present-day effects.
What’s the historical context of the movie?
Many are familiar with the Reconstruction-era crisis of the promise of 40 acres and a mule to formerly enslaved people that never came. Less are familiar with the remarkable fact that even in the midst of post-Civil War era racism, discrimination, and prejudice, Black Americans managed to accumulate a lot of land. By the turn of the 20th century, around 60 million acres of arable land were owned by Black Americans.
Now, that number is down to around 4 million acres. A small minority of Black farmers today farm commodities, or highly marketable crops such as corn, wheat, and barley. Overall, this reduction in land and agricultural production represents a total economic loss of over $300 billion, and untold trillions in potential generational wealth.
How did this happen?
There are a lot of answers to this question, but the film presents a key one as heirs’ property. That’s when land gets passed down to descendants without clear title being transferred. When that happens, every heir has a claim to the property. For example, a 100 acre plot passed down one generation to five direct descendants effectively has reduced each descendant’s property to 20 acres of that land. After the next generation, with another five direct descendants, it has become 4 each. This situation limits the legal control any one “heir” has over the property, thus drastically reducing what can be produced on the land and any ability to sell it at an economic value. These kinds of decisions generally require agreement by all heirs, which can be challenging if not impossible to achieve.
The root of this situation is the massive discrimination and distrust Black Americans have faced since the Civil War, rendering many unable or unwilling to involve a lawyer to write a will or assist in clarifying title on their land. There are many, many secondary consequences as well: there is less ability to get loans needed to buy crops without clear title, for example. When this is combined with the other barriers Black Americans have faced (including delays in loan processing, difficulties in obtaining fertilizer and other necessary farming ingredients, and many others), the loss was inevitable and catastrophic.
Panelists also pointed towards more subtle effects having land taken from a family can have on generations: mental health strains, the lack of an option to raise families on family land owned for generations, the decline of the notion that Black people can and should be farmers, and dwindling populations in rural communities.
What’s being done?
The film describes the work of the LEAP Coalition in working to increase efficiency, production, and sustainability of Black land. The coalition includes the National Black Growers Council and the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation and is headed by John Deere’s Global HR Director and panelist Johane Domersant. Only three years old, the coalition has already assisted in clearing titles on land of 39 families, and they’re working to continue that while increasing education efforts to publicize the issue.
The film’s director, Eternal Polk, hopes that it will shed light on the issue and prompt Black families that own land to ensure their titles are in good shape. Mr. Haynie hopes that the film and other advocacy efforts will “make farming sexy,” showing Black youth that agriculture as a way of life is a potential path to prosperity and happiness.
While Gaining Ground has not been released to a mass audience, it was an official selection at the Essence Film Festival, BlackStar Film Festival, and the Tribeca Film Festival, among others. Keep an eye out for the streaming release!
The views and opinions expressed on the FBLE Blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FBLE. While we review posts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee the reliability and completeness of any legal analysis presented; posts on this Blog do not constitute legal advice. If you discover an error, please reach out to contact@farmbilllaw.org.
Photo Credit: Neha Sanghera
