Black rural land ownership: A matter of economic survival

BLACK RURAL LAND OWNERSHIP: A MATTER OF ECONOMIC SURVIVAL

Leo McGee and Robert Boone

During the past few years the "decline in black-owned rural land in the South" has surfaced as a major issue. Developing strategies to arrest this rapid decline in real estate has been a high priority on the agenda of concerns of the black community. For the land base of all ethnic groups in America is inextricably intertwined with their potential for social, political, and economic progress.

Some of the reasons cited for the percipitous decline in rural land include: (1) black migration from the South to northern and western cities, (2) general ignorance of rural Blacks, and (3) chicanery perpe- trated by unscrupulous lawyers, land speculators, and county officials. 1

THE GREAT MIGRATION

The massive trek of millions of Blacks from their southern rural homeland had its beginning after the Civil War. For many, the "40 acres and a mule" never became a reality. For others the vision of residing and securing more lucrative employment in a less hostile environment was much more attractive. Thus a relentless search for racial harmony and better economic conditions ensued and continued with only minor dis- ruptions for over a one-hundred-year period.

Black migration from the South accelerated during World War I, due to the creation of thousands of industrial jobs for the unskilled. 2 Following the war, the shift to farm mechanization displaced many farm tenants, engendering a greater urge by Blacks to locate better living conditions for their families. The network of family communication from the South to the North and West was soon established.

BLACK RURAL LAND OWNERSHIP 63

In 1910, 91 percent of the Nation's 9.8 million blacks lived in the South. Twenty-seven percent of American blacks lived in cities of 2,500 persons or more, as compared to 48 percent of the Nation's white population.

By 1966, the black population had increased to 21.5 million and two significant geographic shifts had taken place. The proportion of blacks living in the South had dropped to 55 percent and about 69 percent of all blacks lived in metropolitan areas compared to 64 percent for whites. With the total black population more than dou- bled from 1910 to 1966, the number living in cities rose five fold (from 2.6 million to 14.8 million) and the number outside the South rose eleven-fold (from 880,000 to 9.7 million)?

The depression years represent the only brief period of abatement of black migration from the South. World War II set the movement in motion again with the ensuing demand for industrial labor and the expan- sion of farm mechanization.

Over three million Blacks migrated to large Northern and Western urban centers between 1940 and 1960. During the decade of 1960 to 1970, 1.4 million Blacks left the South. 4

Despite the excessive number of Blacks that have left the South, one out of two Blacks still live in Southern states. Blacks constitute 19 percent of the Southern population, 36.8 percent of Mississippi, 30.5 percent of South Carolina, and 29.9 percent of Louisiana. They outnumber whites in several Southern cities and at least 101 Southern counties. ~ Resulting from the many years of black migration, the rural percentage of black population is a mere 25 percent. 6

Within the past two to three years a new phenomenon seems to be developing. There is evidence that a trend of "reverse black migration" is taking place. Because of the deterioration of the quality of city life and concomitant high crime rates, overcrowdedness, pollution, and un- employment, thousands of black professionals as well as the unskilled are moving South. For many, it is a return home. For others, who have never lived in the South, it is a move to a more comfortable environment in search for better economic conditions. Between 1971 and 1973, 247,000 blacks moved to the South while only 166,000 moved out. 7 Many are seeking dwellings in the large Southern cities; others, seduced by the lure of land itself, are buying spreads in rural areas. Often-times attempts are made to reclaim acreage that their parents, grandparents, or relatives once cultivated. 8

64 The Review of Black Political Economy

DECLINE IN BLACK-OWNED RURAL LAND

Throughout history, Blacks have been closely attached to land, whether through field production or domestic services on farms or planta- tions. 9 The economic status of the U.S, has depended greatly on the efficient utilization of farm land. A substantial proportion of farm labor supply has been provided by Blacks.

Following Emancipation, Blacks engaged more vigorously in land- based pursuits, usually agreeing to some type of tenancy or sharecropping agreement with white land owners? ~ It is estimated that Blacks owned 15 million acres of land in 1910, which represented the peak year of black land ownership in the United States. aj By 1920, black farm operators totaled 926,000 which was 14 percent of all farmers in the nation. 12 Included in this number were tenant farmers who exercised managerial functions and were principally laborers paid with a share of the crop? 3

Since 1910, black land ownership has steadily been on the decline. In 1969, Blacks owned less than 6 million acres--representing 79,000 owner operated farms and 17,000 farms operated by black tenant farmers. a4

Moreover, it is reported that more recently thousands of Blacks have sold their rural acreage to make way for new industries, tourist facilities, and suburban developments? ~

The South's former slaves amassed an estimated 15 million acres of land in the United States by 1910. Then, when the black migration to the North began, the land began to slip away . . . estimates made from available Census Bureau statistics indicate that blacks now own no more than 5 million acres of the 1 billion agriculture acres in the Nation. And the decline is continuous. Probably more than 4 million acres of land owned by blacks is in the South. TM

Among the legal reasons for the rapid decline in black land ownership are: 17

1. Tax sales: The taking of tax delinquent property by the state and auctioning it off to the highest bidder.

2. Partition sales: The number of heirs and the size of property are such that it is physically impossible or impractical to actually divide. There-


fore, property is sold to the highest bidder and proceeds are divided among heirs in the proportion of their interest in the land.

3. Mortgage foreclosure." The loss of mortgaged property due to delinquent debt.

4. Failure to write wills: One's defense of right to property is weakened considerably if no will is written specifying heirs of property.

5. Land ownership limitations placed on welfare recipients." Generally, in order to receive welfare assistance, one must not have sufficient in- come and resources from all sources to provide reasonable subsistence compatible with decency and health; and assessed value of property must not exceed a certain amount.

6. Lack of financial resources and~or technical skills to transform land into a viable investment: Often-times land ownership is a financial liability rather than an asset to indigent land owners, due to the hard- ships created by the payment of mortgage and property taxes without any compensating benefit. Therefore, land might be abandoned and left idle or sold for a nominal fee.

7. Eminent domain: The right of government to take private property for public use.

8. Voluntary sale.

It is worth noting that Blacks have often been overtly denied the opportunity to purchase land more conducive for farming. Much of the black-owned rural land has been the less desirable tracts, the rocky, the swampy, and the less fertile. Consequently, an inordinate number were unable to make a living from their land. TM

Further, it is safe to say that far too often black land owners have fallen prey to the "sys tem" because of their lack of real estate knowledge and financial or political clout to defend against the widespread trickery of land officials.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE DECLINE IN B L A C K - O W N E D RURAL LAND

The economic impact of the 9 million black-owned rural acreage lost since 1910 is incomprehensible to many black Americans. It is reported that in the South land constitutes possibly the largest equity base under black control. It is estimated that southern blacks own a total of 5.7 million acres and if a conservative estimate of $150 per acre is made, then


Blacks would have an equity base of at least $750 million in accumulative savings. 19

The impact of rural land ownership by Blacks transcends the actual monetary value of the land itself. Ownership of land affects one's psycho- logical state, which may be more important, particularly at a time when Blacks are attempting to show greater signs of security and independence in determining their own destiny.

In the rural South, studies have indicated that land ownership by blacks tend to be highly correlated with characteristics which are generally regarded as worthy of encouragement within the black community. Land owning blacks have proved to more likely to register and to vote, more likely to participate in civil rights actions and more likely to run for office than are non-land owners. In effect, land ownership in the rural South confers on blacks a measure of independence, of security and dignity and perhaps even power, which is of crucial importance to the elevation of the social, political and economic status of the black community. 2~

NEED FOR RESEARCH

Within the past three years two major studies have addressed the issue of the "decline in black-owned rural land." In 1973, Robert Browne of the Black Economic Research Center in New York released a study entitled, "Only Six Million Acres: A Decline of Black Owned Land in the Rural South." Another study was completed by Lester Salamon in 1974 entitled, "Black Owned Land: Profile of Disappearing Equity Base." Unfortunately, these two studies are not enough to adequately illuminate all of the specifics of this crucial issue.

The literature is replete with studies done on urban Blacks, perhaps too many. One obvious reason is that data are much more accessible. Presently, many individuals from the black community feel that they have been over studied and are leery of even the slightest research efforts in their community.

Throughout the years, black institutions of higher education have made attempts to be of service to their rural constituents through research and extension service. Although their efforts have been inadequate these institutions are not to take full blame for their shortcomings. It is fair to say that the federal government must accept its share of the blame.


Since the enactment of the initial Morrill Act of 1862, Congress has ratified at least two acts designed to strengthen the land-grant institution's effort in extension service. First, the Hatch Act of 1887, which created the Agriculture Experiment Station. Its primary function was to dissemi- nate to the people of the United States useful and practical information on subjects related to agriculture and promote agriculture research. A second act was the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which created the Cooperative Extension Service. It was established for the purpose of diffusing among the people useful and practical information connected to agriculture and home economics. Unfortunately, the traditionally black land-grant institution did not receive federal funds from these two Acts until 1972. 21 On the other hand, major land-grant universities have received millions of dollars for numerous years.

The writers challenge the local, state, and national government, private foundations and other concerned research funding organizations to make financial resources available for authentic research to be conducted on this most important issue of the "Decline in Black-Owned Rural Land." The traditionally black university anxiously awaits the opportunity to fulfill its potential in the area of rural research, particularly the land-grant institution.

Despite the meager state appropriations and outside funding provided these universities, at least one institution has seen fit to embark upon a research project addressing the issue of "Black Rural Land Decline."

Tennessee State University, in Nashville, is conducting a two-year study entitled, " A Study of Rural Land Ownership, Control Problems and Attitudes of Minorities Toward Land in Tennessee." This study is designed to: (1) yield factual information on the status and trends of black land ownership in Tennessee, (2) provide information about the institu- tional practices associated with land transfers, and (3) determine the attitudes held by Blacks toward rural land in Tennessee.

It is envisaged that the results of this treatise will have a significant influence on individual decisions on land use and land ownership as well as the development of future national land policies.

CONCLUSION

A vast majority of Blacks left the South to escape conditions of poverty. The fascination of big city life seduced many others. For what- ever reasons, it is a widely accepted fact that the millions of Blacks who


migrated f rom the South contr ibuted significantly to the decline in

black-owned rural land. However , the literature is beginning to more frequently reveal that the less than altruistic behavior patterns of land officials has possibly contributed most to the loss of rural land by Blacks.

Ostensibly, to minimize the speculations that surround this issue, more research needs to be conducted. The Census of Agriculture is an

unacceptable data resource because of the procedure used to record information on black farm owners and farm operators. The astute re- searcher will develop a research design which requires personal contact with the rural sample being investigated.

Due to the adverse conditions in which many of the large urban centers are faced today, a sizeable number of Blacks are returning to the South. Many who abhor the fact that 75 percent o f the U.S. population lives on 2 percent of the land are securing property in rural areas. Such a gesture not only insures one a stake in the largest equity resource con- trolled by Blacks in the South but contributes to the diversification o f black-owned real estate.

NOTES

1. Anthony Griggs, "How Blacks Lost 9,000,000 Acres of Land," Ebony, October, 1974, p. 97.

2. Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (New York: New York Times Co., 1968) p. 239.

3. Ibid. 4. Lerone Bennett, "Old Illusions and New South," Ebony, August, 1971, p. 36. 5. Ibid. 6. Robert S. Browne, Only Six Million Acres: A Decline of Black Owned Land in

Rural South, (New York: The Black Economic Research Center, 1973) p. 1. 7. Newsweek, March 25, 1974, p. 38. 8. Ibid. 9. Browne, Op. Cit., p. 19.

10. Ibid. 11. Ibid. 12. Calvin L. Beale, "The Negro in American Agriculture," Reprinted from The

American Negro Reference Book, edited by John P. Davis (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1966), p. 170.

13. Ibid. 14. Browne, Op. Cit., p. 19. 15. Time Magazine, December 7, 1972. 16. Ibid. 17. Browne, op. cit., Passim. 18. Carter G. Woodson, The Rural Negro (Washington, D.C.: The Association for

the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc., 1930) pp. 35-36.


19. Lester M. Salamon, Black Owned Land: Profile of Disappearing Equity Base (Washington, D.C.: Office of Minority Business Enterprise, U.S. Department of Com- merce, 1974), p. ii.

20. Lester M. Salamon, "Family Assistance--The Stakes in the Rural South," The New Republic, February 20, 1971.

21. Richard D. Morrison, president of Alabama A & M University, "A Testimony Before the Senate Subcommittee on Migratory Labor," United States Senate, June 1972.

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Black rural land ownership: A matter of economic survival