As I wait to hear if my paper is accepted for PAA 2024, I reflect on my paper session from last year. I presented in a session called Spatial Demography of Structural racism. It was a great experience. Here is a short abstract of the paper I presented. This paper will be part of my dissertation.
This paper aims to show contemporary outcomes of land investment in the historical context of post-Civil War Black communities, known as Texas freedom colonies. Data from U.S. Census Bureau and the Texas Freedom Colonies Project are used to illustrate that Black homeownership rates in Texas cities are mediated by the proximity to freedom colonies and the racial composition of these cities influences property ownership. Findings show that early efforts to invest in land served as a protective mechanism for these communities, which in turn, have contributed to the development of the state. This study theorizes that the current venture of homeownership is an act of agency for Blacks as it was for previous generations. The study makes a unique contribution to the literature on racial and ethnic inequality in homeownership and wealth. It concludes with policy implications of understanding the impact of historical context from a counter-narrative perspective.