IN YOUR INBOX
After a year-long legal battle with a railroad company over their land, landowners in a rural, majority-Black town in Georgia may be forced to sell their homes. In an initial decision on Monday, a Georgia Public Service Commission officer approved a proposed rail spur in Sparta. Several property owners had refused to sell the land […]
Black land
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Young Black Farmers Energized Despite Land Loss and Racist History
The bleak outlook for Black farmers hasnât stopped a new generation from entering the profession despite land loss, racism, and continued discrimination. In the past five years, the U.S. lost 7% of all farms, while Black folks lost nearly 13%, the highest decline among all racial groups, according to data from the recent Census of […]
Posted inCulture, History
âWe Owe it to Gracieâ: A Look Inside This Familyâs Quest for Reparations
Candice Hammonsâ curiosity about the history of the maternal side of her close-knit family unearthed a mystery along Texasâ Neches River. It all started with a simple ancestry test in 2018. Her niece had just completed a DNA kit from 23andMe and her excitement was contagious. For Hammons, it wasnât just about learning where she […]
Posted inEminent Domain, Rural Issues
Why This Rural Community Is at War With a 130-Year Railroad Company
SPARTA, Ga. â On a muggy and humid afternoon in mid-September, a frustrated Mark Smith stands in the kitchen of the home he and his wife, Janet Smith, built over 30 years ago on the 600 acres his grandfather acquired in 1926. Just a few feet away, the home where Mark grew up still stands. […]