For an update on the Jones Family, head to our Instagram for Where Is My Land’s official statement.
On October 14th, WIML headed to Alabama to #ActivateHuntsville. Over 100 folks flocked to Holmes Avenue to demand restitution from Madison County, Huntsville, Alabama, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. We marched from St. Luke’s Church to UAH’s campus chanting, “Justice for Willie Jones. They took his well. They took his home.” Cars along the freeway stopped in their tracks to pledge their support by blaring their horns, a sight we’ll never forget. Multiple local news outlets, like WAFF and WHNT, covered the direct action helping to further broadcast our fight for reparative justice. And while the Jones campaign might be over, WIML is just getting started in Alabama.
WASHINGTON FAMILY
Remember the Washingtons? Major oil and gas companies owe them a fortune in royalties, and they’re trying to collect what they are due! Their petition is almost at 1,000 signatures! Can you help us by signing and sharing?
PEARSON FAMILY
Back in August, you met the Pearson family from Livermore, California. The land they bought held a recreational easement, which meant that there was a portion of their land that they could not use. The wall erected to demarcate the easement was a stark reminder of the racially stratified world we live in, and it still stands today.
The heirs and descendants of Hattie Mae Richmond, an integral figure in the De Soto Parish community, are continuing their fight for their rightful ownership and royalties from precious resources extracted from the property in which Hattie Mae held interest. The family is re-starting their media campaign soon- will yousign their petitionand pledge your support?
Where Is My Land Selected by the Decolonizing Wealth Project as a Recipient of this Year's #Case4Reparations Grants
The Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) and its funding vehicle, Liberated Capital, announced Where Is My Land as one of 34 grantee partners to receive funding through the #Case4Reparations funding initiative yesterday.
This round of $3 million in grants is the initial wave of funding that the organization has distributed since their $20 million commitment to boost campaigns for reparations unveiled earlier this year, an exciting first step in what will be a five-year, multidisciplinary project.
The funding initiative is aimed at fueling and amplifying conversations and campaigns around reparations to address the racial wealth gap facing Black people in the United States. In 2021, Liberated Capital announced the redistribution of $1.7M to its inaugural cohort of 23 #Case4Reparations grantee partners. By the end of 2022, the fund had grown by 18 percent, and already distributed nearly $4 million.
WIML looks forward to leveraging this investment in our continued fight to help Black families reclaim their stolen land.
Co-author Aria Florant, the co-founder and CEO of Liberation Ventures says, “The time for such an effort is now. As the baby Boomer generation passes away, an estimated $84 trillionis projected to be passed downto heirs, with some $16 trillion transferred in the next decade alone. To put that in perspective, that’s 43 percent more than what it would take toeliminate the entire Black-white wealth gap. Rather than reinforcing the nation’s inequity, philanthropy could leverage this wealth transfer to set a new path.”
When our CEO, Kavon Ward, founded Justice for Bruce’s Beach, philanthropy was notably absent from the movement. She aptly sums up how philanthropy’s involvement could have alleviated pressure, “When I think about if philanthropy was more involved, I think about how it would have minimized the level of stress that Black women had to endure throughout the fight. People expect Black women to save the world, but they don’t see the human in us and see that it affects us, and we need help with dealing with the traumas we experience trying to save the world.”
Right now, WIML has over 700 families in our queue. With more philanthropic muscle behind us, we would have the capacity to serve more families on their paths to reparative justice. It’s time philanthropy had a reckoning and included reparations in their definitions of racial healing. If organizations like ours that are doing unprecedented reparations work are constantly clamoring for funding, what message is philanthropy sending?
Read the reports linked below and forward them to your friends and colleagues in the philanthropic space to ensure this conversation continues.
Top Reparative Justice Headlines from September & October 2023
San Francisco, California:Listento our CEO, Kavon Ward, sit down with Your Call on KALW with Dr. William Darity and Don Tamaki and discuss what she imagines reparations will look like for Black communities in California
Introducing Where Is My Land's New Communications Lead
Dear Where Is My Land community,
Introductions are in order! My name is Hannah Greene, and last month, I became the newest Communications Lead for Where is My Land. Before signing on, I could not have imagined how much this work would fill my cup and remind me of my purpose on this earth.
I like to say I’ve lived many lives- from administrative assisting at CBS News, selling iPhones on an Apple sales floor, research assisting, and ghostwriting for authors, just to name a few, and what I have found is that my path has always led back to one thing: Black folks.
My path here has been anything but linear. From the time I could conceptualize a future as a child, I wanted to be a doctor. My summers in high school were spent over Petri dishes and cadavres. Fast forward to the end of my sophomore year at Yale, and my world was upended. The future I saw so clearly for myself as a doctor was not mine at all, so rather than stick it out, I relinquished it. As I searched for new majors, my dean and I saw a trend in the credits I had already acquired- African American Studies. I still hear the chorus of practical naysayers in my head, “What are you going to do with that degree?” I had no idea- all I knew was through education, my love for myself and my people was deepening, which I remain rooted in until this day.
I locate my power most fluently through writing, and I aim to help others locate theirs as well. My education and lived experiences have grounded me in both the past and present simultaneously, equipping me with the tools to drive family campaigns with Where Is My Land. Last year, I was a research assistant for my dear friend and colleague, Brea Baker’s book, Rooted. She explored the devastating impacts that land theft had on Black families, including her own. Seeing the violent cards capitalism and white supremacy dealt Black land stewards was a revelation that stuck with me. It helped me contextualize some glaring disparities my peers and I experienced and witnessed firsthand.
One of my deepest held beliefs, shaped by my upbringing and education, is that Black folks are owed. We are owed for being stolen from the cradle of our ancestors. We are owed for centuries of back and soul-breaking work. We are owed for surviving, despite it all. My mission as the Communications Lead at WIML is to amplify the stories that have been drowned out for over a century.
Last week, I was honored with an alumni award of distinction from my alma mater, SUNY Oneonta. If you scan the website of honorees, you’ll find me to be the only Black woman on the docket. That is why I knew I needed to use my acceptance remarks to speak truth to power. Read an excerpt below:
"Now, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that attending a predominantly white college was not a culture shock and that it didn’t challenge this young Black girl who grew up surrounded by people who looked like me, thought like me, and who were harmed by racism and white supremacy like me. It was difficult. I was often judged, misunderstood, disrespected, and devalued. But the college had its gems. People who saw my heart and my soul. People who understood me and people who believed in me, like the other 3% of Black students who attended the University at the time, we all stood close together to ensure we got our degrees and maintained our sanity. We created a true community..
There were other gems like my former EOP counselor, the great Edward Bo Whaley. A man I think about often and miss dearly. He truly had my back and undoubtedly was the reason I was able to survive my first year at the college. One of the few people in my life I am so grateful for. He was peace for so many. He made that foreign experience home for me, and I owe much of my success to him."
