 Land Gains, Land Losses: The Odyssey of African Americans Since ReconstructionWaymon R. Hinson American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 2018, vol. 77, issue 3-4, 893-939 Abstract: The history of African American land acquisition and dispossession is a long and torturous story from the shores of Africa, through the Middle Passage, to enslavement in America in both urban and rural settings, and into the complexities of freedom under Reconstruction and Jim Crow. Prior to enslavement, Africans lived in agricultural settings. Despite the horrors of slavery, their cultural attachment to the land in their homelands would prove beneficial after emancipation. Developing an agrarian spirit and accumulating land at a rate beyond that of whites in the first few decades of freedom, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, black land ownership peaked in the early 1900s. Thereafter, African Americans began to lose their land faster than whites. This article explores the larger context of the South, the creativity African Americans showed in resistance and in declaring themselves human, the movement toward land ownership, and the ways and means by which African Americans lost their land. Narrative and data reveal the complexities and the lived experience of African Americans. Date: 2018 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:ajecsc:v:77:y:2018:i:3-4:p:893-939 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article American Journal of Economics and Sociology is currently edited by Laurence S. Moss More articles in American Journal of Economics and Sociology from Wiley Blackwell |
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