Heir property in two resettlement communities in Alabama

The purpose of this study is to examine the socio-economic impacts of heir property on asset building, cultural continuity, and community development in rural African American communities. Heir property is one of the leading... [ view full abstract ]

The purpose of this study is to examine the socio-economic impacts of heir property on asset building, cultural continuity, and community development in rural African American communities. Heir property is one of the leading causes of persistent poverty and land loss in African American communities. Traditionally African American landowners have not written wills, which creates complex issues once the owner dies. In the absence of a probated will, the state determines how property is to be divided among surviving heirs, hence the term “heir property.” As one generation gives way to the next, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify heirs. For African Americans heir property has resulted in land loss, economic instability (especially in the rural South), lack of political representation, and lack of community development. The clouded title associated with heir property means the land cannot be used as collateral for home loans, and heir property owners are ineligible for government and farm programs aimed to help landowners improve the value of their land. In this study heir property was identified and analyzed in Gee’s Bend (Wilcox County), Alabama. Almost half of all heir property parcels in Wilcox County (143 of 314) were located within Gees Bend, a community created in 1937 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) bought a plantation and sold the land to 99 African American sharecroppers. Other “resettlement communities” (as such came to be called) were created elsewhere in the South, including Prairie Farms, also in Alabama (Macon County). In this paper, I describe the uses and limits of heir property in Gee’s Bend and compare my findings with those of a companion study conducted in Prairie Farms.