Black Homesteaders of the South

The Homestead Act of 1862, the Emancipation Proclamation and subsequent Reconstruction amendments didn't just abolish slavery-they gave African Americans a chance to earn a living and own land. Even though their names were never mentioned alongside the other rugged heroes of frontier lore, a startling number of homesteaders were Black men and women in the South, toiling on familiar land but now in unfamiliar fashion-as owners. For many of these Black pioneers, this meant risking their lives...