Covenant VII - Strengthening Our Rural Roots

[Thuso]

Comments on the Introductory Essay by Oleta Fitzgerald and Sarah Bobrow-Williams*

Fitzgerald and Bobrow-Williams lay out this challenge for the Black community:
"No matter where we live now, most African Americans are descendants of the slave plantation system of the South. Black landownership represents an asset and a wealth creation vehicle. African American leadership should embrace the opportunity that landownership presents to blacks and create an environment encouraging cooperation among the estimated 500,000 affected black landowners who could aggregate their six million acres, leveraging other capital for housing, mixed-use development, and job creation. Such an environment would go a long way in improving the overall quality of their lives."

They underscore the importance of rural landownership with this observation: "Landownership for African Americans has served and can still serve as a psychological and transformative mechanism. Landownership for African Americans conveys a sense of pride, power, place, self, family, and community."

What can we do to strengthen our rural roots? Here are some recommendations from The Covenant:

Support and contribute to existing African American institutions devoted to assisting African American landowners to acquire, retain, and develop land.
Find out if your family owns land in the South and reach out to other family members to develop a strategy to hold onto that land.
Educate yourself about the issues impacting black rural residents and speak out about these issues at every opportunity -- at town council meetings, before the media, and to other outlets.

Most of all, The Covenant recommends: "Hold all leaders and elected officials responsible and demand that they change current policy."

There are several urban/rural initiatives identified in The Covenant that can strengthen our connection to our rural roots. Let us know about initiatives in your community.

*Copyright The Covenant With Black America. Get your copy of The Covenant at iZania Market (http://www.izaniamarket.com/auctiondetails.php?id=102806&PHPSESSID=31f9891a1831002811ac6a862f0543d7).

[tamlynken]

What and where are the institutions that are devoted to developing land? My family has owned land in Fort Valley Georgia since 1869. The problem is that many of us do not see the opportunity to create generational wealth with land purchased by our ancestors They would rather sell now and buy something i.e. cars furs, trips rather than looking at the BIG picture. It is true that land ownership is powerful and it has created in me a sense of purpose to develop the land now and reap the benefits forever and not just expect immediate gratifications. Please somebody help a sistah out- We own 30+ acres adjacent to Fort Valley State University and I cannot work with my family unfortunately but I am determined not to sell but to develop. If you can help email me at tamlynken69@yahoo.com,Comments (tamlynken69@yahoo.com,[QUOTE=Thuso]Comments) on the Introductory Essay by Oleta Fitzgerald and Sarah Bobrow-Williams*

Fitzgerald and Bobrow-Williams lay out this challenge for the Black community:
"No matter where we live now, most African Americans are descendants of the slave plantation system of the South. Black landownership represents an asset and a wealth creation vehicle. African American leadership should embrace the opportunity that landownership presents to blacks and create an environment encouraging cooperation among the estimated 500,000 affected black landowners who could aggregate their six million acres, leveraging other capital for housing, mixed-use development, and job creation. Such an environment would go a long way in improving the overall quality of their lives."

They underscore the importance of rural landownership with this observation: "Landownership for African Americans has served and can still serve as a psychological and transformative mechanism. Landownership for African Americans conveys a sense of pride, power, place, self, family, and community."

What can we do to strengthen our rural roots? Here are some recommendations from The Covenant:

Support and contribute to existing African American institutions devoted to assisting African American landowners to acquire, retain, and develop land.
Find out if your family owns land in the South and reach out to other family members to develop a strategy to hold onto that land.
Educate yourself about the issues impacting black rural residents and speak out about these issues at every opportunity -- at town council meetings, before the media, and to other outlets.
Most of all, The Covenant recommends: "Hold all leaders and elected officials responsible and demand that they change current policy."

There are several urban/rural initiatives identified in The Covenant that can strengthen our connection to our rural roots. Let us know about initiatives in your community.

*Copyright The Covenant With Black America. Get your copy of The Covenant at iZania Market (http://www.izaniamarket.com/auctiondetails.php?id=102806&PHPSESSID=31f9891a1831002811ac6a862f0543d7).

[samres]

This is in response to the sister that requested help here at the Izania forum. The request looks like it may be a quote of a conversation that took place some time ago. Is it still current?

If so, I know a brother, web name of Olushola, who helps other people obtain and develop land. As a matter of fact, as I move toward financial freedom, I will be consulting more with him. If this is still current, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Samuel Burnham
www.8thwonderonline.com/theburnhams (http://www.8thwonderonline.com/theburnhams)
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What and where are the institutions that are devoted to developing land? My family has owned land in Fort Valley Georgia since 1869. The problem is that many of us do not see the opportunity to create generational wealth with land purchased by our ancestors They would rather sell now and buy something i.e. cars furs, trips rather than looking at the BIG picture. It is true that land ownership is powerful and it has created in me a sense of purpose to develop the land now and reap the benefits forever and not just expect immediate gratifications. Please somebody help a sistah out- We own 30+ acres adjacent to Fort Valley State University and I cannot work with my family unfortunately but I am determined not to sell but to develop. If you can help email me at tamlynken69@yahoo.com,[QUOTE=Thuso]Comments on the Introductory Essay by Oleta Fitzgerald and Sarah Bobrow-Williams*

[Thuso]

Tammy,
You raise a very important question. I, too, have been through a similar dialog with my family regarding property that we own in the South. None of us intend to return to live there, but that shouldn't be an incentive to sell out. For now, we still own a decent parcel of land that is undeveloped. At one time it was farm land. The boundaries of the nearest town are expanding, and this parcel could well be the target of a surburban housing development that would be attractive to local University professionals.

In any "development project" the developer is taking most of the financial risk, and generally, that developer wants to acquire the property at the lowest cost to increase the flexibility and options for profit that are available. I have been through a real estate development project recently, and unfortunatley, the property owner has few options than to ultimately sell. Real estate development is a game that most of us don't understand. In the final analysis, it is about buying, converting the use from one form to another, and selling. The property ultimately changes hands. The trick is to get the greatest appreciation when it leaves your hands.

The best of all worlds is a partnership that includes shared risk and reward (if you have the skills and experience to participate). The next best alternative is to sell when there is a real project on the drawing board. This provides a solid basis for determining the value of the transaction. If you are unable to participate in the risk by providing some of the capital for development (or your property as collateral), your options are limited.

The longer you hold onto the property, the greater the value when it leaves your hands.

[tamlynken]

Thanks Thuso and Mr Burnham- it has been 8 years but I am determined to do something to develop the land preferably with a partnership with Fort Valley State University. Because I live in Cleveland it has been challenging to say the least to dvelop the relationships in ft Valley but I have been able to do that. The Universe has been good- I believe I am destined to develop this land. The problem has been my other family members who also own a piece of this property so I now know that I must buy them out because we cannot agree to disagree and they want to sell anyway. That is my mission now- buying them out so that I can have the final say as to what happens to the land.