African Americans have lost nearly 90% of their agricultural land over the last century, declining from 15 million acres in 1910 to less than 3 million acres today. Experts attribute this to the common practice of passing down heirs’ property without proper documentation like a will or clear title.
This problem is common in both rural and urban areas like Houston. Without these legal protections, families lose ancestral properties through forced sales, difficulty accessing loans or grants, and disputes among co-owners. They also miss out on wealth-building opportunities for future generations.
An organization addressing heirs’ property issues, Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation (CHPP), launched the East Texas Heirs’ Property Initiative (ETHPI) to provide support to landowners facing the complexities of heirs’ property ownership, particularly in African Americans that have experienced significant land loss over generations. Because of Houston’s significant Black population, ETHPI can assist with both rural (East Texas) and urban property issues.
“Expanding our services to East Texas is a critical step in helping landowners secure their legacy across the nation,” said Dr. Jennie Stephens, who has served as the CEO of CHPP since its inception in 2005. “The East Texas Heirs’ Property Initiative will provide the free legal, forestry and land use, and community resources needed to resolve ownership issues, preserve family land, and unlock its potential for economic mobility.”
CHHP provides education and services (legal and forestry) in South Carolina, focusing on 25 of the 46 counties. The organization works with historically underserved landowners to make their lands productive and increase their access to federal cost-share programs. Its Texas chapter will start by providing services in 12 counties.
The loss of land
Stephens observed that families in communities historically settled by African Americans were losing their land because of significant increases in property taxes, lack of knowledge of their legal rights, limited access to trusted and affordable resources and what heirs’ property is.
According to Stephens, CHPP has provided free one-hour advice and counseling sessions to more than 6,000 people and drafted over 2000 simple wills at free community wills clinics. More than 1,600 people also received direct legal services to clear titles.
Stephens says that in East Texas, families are not maximizing the use of their land.
“My message that I want to resonate with the landowners is to always think back to their ancestors who acquired the land through blood, sweat, and tears,” Stephens said. “Please, please, please make sure you’re taking care of that asset…it is not just about paying the property taxes, it’s about making the land work for you.”
From the loss of land comes a loss of wealth.
Gregory L. Phillips, co-founding partner of a law firm of Houston business attorneys Phillips Kaiser, believes Black families have lost significant wealth upon losing the land they inherited from their ancestors.
“Think about land value appreciation, just the land value alone, appreciation over those years as well,” he explained. “Then you gotta think about what’s on top of the land, timber rights, water rights. Below the land, you have mineral rights. So you think about all the wealth that’s been lost from that land…there’s been billions of dollars lost for families.”
What issues are landowners facing today?
Dr. John T. Cooper, Jr., an associate professor of practice in the landscape architecture and urban planning department and director of the Texas Target Communities Program at Texas A&M University, says the primary issue Black landowners are grappling with today is clearing title and structuring a plan for the land they received.
He added that they also face a lack of appraisers to gauge the value of the land and quality attorneys who can resolve title issues. Moreover, most families are unaware of the potential to turn their land into an economic benefit or a worthy return on investments.
Cooper believes that people, especially in the South, relate to stories about family land and legacy, so heirs’ property receives bipartisan support and enthusiasm.
“Texas is a state where citizens are fiercely protective of property rights, and there are a lot of people who empathize and want to create the conditions where people are able to hold onto their land,” Cooper said.
Cooper aims to tie together geography, genealogy, and law as part of his work at the organization.
“Part of my work is mapping the landscape, figuring out who’s out there doing that,” Cooper said. “We’re reaching out to the law clinics at universities and there are pro bono attorneys. I also want to engage historians, and librarians who can help with genealogical research and helping families put together family trees.”
Creating value from land
Phillips says land creates value for future generations. However, to achieve this, landowners today must change their perception of their land from being a “burden” to an “opportunity.”
“Most people view their land as a burden because they don’t know how to use it,” Phillips said. “They may be absentee landowners. They may have inherited it…You pay the taxes, that’s the view, but be educated so you can figure out how the land could be used as a benefit.”
Phillips says there are various avenues to making land work for landowners, who can use it for timber forestry, solar farms, data centers, or renting it out for hunting.
To create wealth from land, landowners should secure title to their land first.
“A lot of underserved communities, they don’t know how to do land succession, estate planning,” he said. “Everyone should have a will. Everyone should figure out how to put the land into my estate to make sure it stays in the family.”
Phillips suggests landowners get involved in local organizations that help keep ancestral properties within families.
“Get involved and get educated,” he said.
