This report explores the gradual disappearance of Gullah-Geechee culture in the South Carolina Lowcountry through the loss of their communally held land, known as heirs’ property. The history of African American land ownership in the South will be uncovered in order to provide a context for the current issues heirs’ property owners and land rights advocates face. The major threats contributing heir’s property loss will be examined in order to gauge an understanding of the origins of distrust Gullah-Geechee landowners harbor against outside entities. Current private and public advocacy movements will be evaluated for their effectiveness in solving the heirs’ property issue in the South Carolina Lowcountry. The report will conclude with suggestions for filling the gap between the heirs’ property community and the private and public efforts designed to preserve the Gullah-Geechee culture and way of life. / text

Heirs' property is generated through the intergenerational transfer of a property to several co-owners when the original owner dies without a will. Such co-owners hold undivided fractional interest in the entire land but lack a clear title. Co-owners face several legal, financial, and technical constraints to manage the forestlands and often seek partition of the land. However, the legal environment and empirical assessment of partition actions on forestlands owned as heirs' property has not been examined. This thesis evaluates statutory laws relevant to forestland partition and the factors instrumental in adjudicating partition lawsuits. The findings reveal that partition lawsuits are primarily adjudicated using common law rather than statutory law. The magnitude of co-owners' fractional interest, the income withheld from forestlands, and the presence of absentee co-owners favor partition claimants. The study results have implications for heirs' property owners, legal entities and personnel, and policymakers.

The population of Black farmers in the U.S. has declined to 2% of farmers in the U.S. because of institutional racism, land dispossession, heir’s property, and youth’s disinterest in farming. Most works on Black farmers have focused on racism, and heirs’ property, but little is known about the influence of race, gender, and inheritance on Black farmers’ experience. To understand this, I asked: what are the contemporary challenges associated with farming among Black farmers in Mississippi? How do race, gender, and inheritance influence the experiences of Black farmers? And how do Black farmers cope with their farming challenges? Twenty farmers in Mississippi were interviewed using semi-structured questions, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings shows that farming is a ‘retirement haven.’ Interviewees experience “closed door” to resources. Farming is gendered, and heirs’ property limits Black farmers to small acreages. Cooperative provides support for Black farmers.