Legacy

Legacy is about loss of inheritance and what we can do to reclaim it. The introduction summarizes the psychological tyranny inflicted on Africans and their descendants over the course of enslavement and Jim Crow. Legacy brings the past into the present with the story of Jeff Carter, a Black man born during "slavery" who, by 1916, acquired over 800 acres of mineral-rich land in the Middle District of Georgia. In this particular region, a mineral known as "chalk" to the locals, has produced a multi-billion dollar, foreign-owned and operated industry. Kaolin, as it is officially known, is predominately used in the paper and paint industries (National Geographic is about 30% kaolin), but is also used as a filler in ceramics, cosmetics, medicine, rubber, toothpaste, etc. The majority of the mineral-laden land is owned by Black farmers, who have seen very little, if any, of the profits garnered from their land. Ninety-nine (99) year mineral leases and outright theft have kept these farmers from reaping any amount of the wealth. The heirs of Jeff Carter are one such family, who were brutally evicted from their 800 acre estate in 1950. In 1980, after many failed attempts to reclaim their estate, they were solicited by kaolin-industry agents and attorneys who represented the family who stole their land!