A new grant is set to help Black families in Houston’s Kashmere Gardens neighborhood safeguard their homes and pass on generational wealth, thanks to a $300,000 award to Texas Southern University’s Earl Carl Institute for Legal & Social Policy.
The funding, provided by the Rockwell Fund, will support the expansion of heirs’ property and estate planning services in the historic neighborhood over the next two years.
“Heirs’ property challenges disproportionately affect Black families and low-to-moderate income households, limiting their ability to build and preserve generational wealth while increasing vulnerability to property loss,” said Sarah Guidry, executive director of the Earl Carl Institute. “Through this work, we aim to help families stabilize ownership, protect their homes, and preserve long-term wealth in Kashmere Gardens.”
Guidry added that the program will help families with inherited properties secure tax exemptions, home repairs, disaster relief, services to help prevent foreclosures, confirm family agreements to keep family properties within the family, and prevent the loss of the family legacy to “predatory investors who intentionally target Black family properties.”
Addressing legal challenges
This marks the second consecutive year of support from the fund, which also awarded the Institute $300,000 in 2025 to address legal challenges that put residents’ housing stability at risk.
Heirs’ property issues arise when a homeowner dies without a will, leaving multiple family members with fractional ownership of a property. It disproportionately impacts Black Americans, who experience a greater rate of discrimination and exclusion from legal and financial systems for generations.
Without a clear title, families often struggle to make repairs or sell the property without the unanimous consent of all heirs.
These complications can leave homes vulnerable to forced sales or predatory investors looking to acquire property at below-market prices.
Gregory L. Phillips, co-founding partner of a law firm, explained that Black families have lost out on significant wealth by losing land they inherited from their ancestors.
“Think about land value appreciation, just the land value alone, appreciation over those years as well,” Phillips said. “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.”
By confirming family agreements and clarifying ownership, the Institute hopes to close the door on tactics that have stripped generational wealth from Black families across the country.
A central part of the initiative involves placing a dedicated attorney in the community each week.
The attorney will meet with families at a central site within Kashmere Gardens itself. Organizers say this consistent, in-person presence is intended to build trust with residents and offer timely guidance on issues ranging from title clearing to probate alternatives, estate planning, and other legal matters affecting property ownership and housing stability.
“Through education, legal assistance, and proactive planning, the program will empower residents to navigate complex property and estate matters more effectively,” reads a statement from TSU.
“Heirs’ property challenges disproportionately affect Black families and low-to-moderate income households, limiting their ability to build and preserve generational wealth…”
Sarah Guidry, executive director of the Earl Carl Institute
The Earl Carl Institute, based at TSU’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law, has operated since 1992 as a nonprofit think tank focused on legal advocacy for marginalized communities. Its mission centers on providing free legal representation and conducting policy research, advocacy, and community engagement, while advancing public policy solutions to systemic socioeconomic challenges.
By combining direct legal services with education and proactive planning tools, the Institute aims to equip Kashmere Gardens residents with the resources needed to navigate complex property and estate matters before problems arise.
The Earl Carl Institute, through the Opal Mitchell Lee Property Preservation Project, also offers free legal services to help families navigate inheritance and property title issues.
Other legal services provided by the institute include:
- The Thurgood Marshall School of Law Innocence Project: Exonerating the wrongfully convicted
- The ECI Juvenile Justice Project: A juvenile criminal defense and representation in school disciplinary actions
- The ECI Clean Slate Cooperative: Creating a pathway to a better life by clearing criminal records
