The Black farmer and land in south-central Alabama: Strategies to preserve a scarce resource

Black-American culture has been tied to the land and agriculture for over 300 years. However, Blacks have had limited access to land ownership due to a historic relationship with a dominant White society based on discrimination. This major resource constraint prevented the full participation of the Black farmer in traditional commercial agriculture. Research conducted in the Black Belt Region of Alabama is used to examine the importance of land, particularly the multigenerational ownership of land, on current farm participation and landholdings. Strategies employed by farmers to pass this scarce resource to succeeding generations are also examined.