Out of the Reconstruction period after the Civil War came a promise made to formerly enslaved peoples. Known as “40 acres and a mule,” the concept, a form of reparations, was delivered through Union Gen. William T. Sherman's Special Field Orders in 1865. Those orders called for giving formerly enslaved peoples their own acreage to start their lives.
A common assumption has been that no one received land grants. But a new investigative series from Mother Jones magazine, The Center for Public Integrity and the investigative podcast, Reveal, found differently. The reporting determined that hundreds and even thousands of land titles were issued to formerly enslaved peoples. But, the government took the land back under a policy of President Andrew Johnson and restored it to plantation owners.
Recently on Ideastream Public Media’s public affairs radio program, the “Sound of Ideas,” a reporter on the project discussed the findings and how repercussions of the failed program continue to impact Black families and their ability to build generational wealth.
You can read the reporting, “40 Acres and a Lie” on the Mother Jones web site.
Guests:
-April Simpson, Senior Reporter, The Center for Public Integrity