The concepts of land ownership and land loss are central to this story. What, if anything, did you know about heirs property before reading the novel? How do you think the impact of land loss still reverberates through today’s society? What might be done to address it?
I didn’t know about heirs property before reading this. My family never owned land, just the parcel that our house was on. My generational wealth came through earned income and investments. So I really can’t relate to land loss and the impact on families.
I actually knew quite a lot about it from a book I read a few years ago: Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris. I did a lot of digging as I read that one, and the author did a great job explaining what exactly heirs property is, and how it’s one of several strategies used to deprive Black families of their land (even today!).
I just want to say this was new to me. If it still happened today I hope people get help. People should not lose their land.
I hadn’t know about heirs property laws at all, and was grateful to learn about it, and the other injustices that caused Black people to lose their land. It was shocking to learn that 90% of Black land was lost in the 20th century! A huge reason why Blacks have so little generational wealth to pass on. Appalling!
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I had never heard that term until I read a review of Long After We Are Gone. Need to add that to my TBR.
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I did not know about heirs property. Looked it up and it is still a bit confusing to me. I read about it after midnight so maybe I take another look!
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I had only a vague awareness of heirs’ property before reading this novel. I had heard it mentioned in passing here and there, but I never really understood the depth of its impact. Communities built after emancipation often relied on land ownership as a tangible expression of autonomy and self-determination. Losing that land can feel like losing the hard-won promise of Reconstruction itself. It’s clear that the effects continue to ripple forward today, not only in terms of financial wealth, but also in identity, stability, and a sense of rootedness.
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I had no idea of this situation. And I’m so glad to learn. I understand efforts are being made to change the laws to prevent the process. The impact is just one more source of injustice.
My grandfather‘s land was stolen from him and his family. The Elementary School that I went to set on property that was stolen. It should bear our family’s name.
I was unaware of heirs property, but now I wonder if there’s something similar available in Serbia too, where people were swindled out of their rightful properties by our own government in the 90’s.
Indigenous people, Japanese
I was unaware of heirs property and its legal ramifications. Because states establish laws related to property rights, I wonder if the heirs property laws are on the books in all states or just in some states. My family experienced a loss of property in the mid-1970s. I was born and raised on a small farm in central Kansas. I was a teenager at the time and don’t know what raised the issues with my deceased uncle’s wife, but she questioned the ownership and inheritance of our farm. Upon examination of the legal documents surrounding the farm, it was found that my great-great grandfather had stipulated in his will that the farm would be inherited through the generations by the first-born son. If the first-born son of each generation did not want the property or if the first-born son did not produce a male heir, the property would be sold and sale dividends divided among all of the direct heirs. My father had only my sister and I. Thankfully, the judge who presided over the civil case made it clear that we could remain on the farm until my father passed away, but after that we would regrettably have to vacate and the farm be sold. To add insult to injury, the aunt who brought the suit wanted my father to pay her court costs and wanted us to give her a percentage of all the profits (but not the costs) through the years. Ironically, my deceased uncle was a physician and my aunt had been left well cared for. The judge, again thankfully, ruled against her. Upon my father’s death, we had to move off the farm on which he had built our house, barn, and all of the outbuildings, The judge did indicate that the will that started the mess would not have been legal if written at the time we were going through this debacle. It literally shortened my father’s life. Gender, race, and ethnicity have all been causes of discrimination in property ownership in this country. I do think it is often hard for individuals who don’t come from a agrarian background to understand that to those of us with that background, land is everything. It is truly part of your heart and soul.
Those groups most prominently feeling the impact of land loss have been Black Americans and Native Americans. I honestly don’t know how this can be addressed. Their loss of land is a stain on our nation’s history, but the question also has to be asked if succeeding generations have to take responsibility for their ancestors’ actions. And I am an individual of the succeeding generations who benefitted from that theft of land. Politicians will say that reparations are not possible, yet I see them authorize billions of dollars in what could be considered wasteful spending.