Restitution for Historical Land Loss

The history of the United States is replete with racially motivated land dispossession and displacement, from the conquest of Native nations’ homelands across the continent, to the seizure of lands privately owned by people of color through a wide variety of mechanisms, including eminent domain, partition of heirs’ property, Alien land laws, and racial terror. For one example, over the twentieth century, Black families lost approximately 90% of the land they managed to acquire after the abolition of slavery. The scale of this historical land loss, and the myriad ways that the law has been an instrument of such land dispossession, are only beginning to be understood.

How can the law can be mobilized for restitution in such cases? Recently, California has been a leader in showing the possibility of reparative outcomes that have included the return of land as settlements reaching millions of dollars in the high profile cases of Bruce’s Beach, Palm Springs, and more. This year, students in the practicum, in partnership with the law office of renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, as well as Public Counsel, the largest pro bono law firm in the nation, will engage in active negotiations on behalf of former residents of Russell City, a majority Black and Latine town that was destroyed by eminent domain in the 1960s, and begin research for land loss claims in Venice Beach.

2-credit seminar will explore the history of racially motivated land loss and its legal dimensions. Students will also enroll in 2 credits of fieldwork, to be supervised by Attorney Kamilah Moore, former Chair of California’s Reparations Task Force, and Professor Park. Students will learn and apply negotiation skills, conduct historical and legal research on title claims and relevant legal doctrines, and gain experience writing legal memos and brief and advising clients. Past enrollment in Property Law is recommended but not required.