Owning Home African American Agriculture In Lower Richland County South Carolina 1868 1890

"Combining the study of land use through crop mixes, agricultural activism in the Colored Farmers Alliance, and historical interpretation of Reconstruction, a more dynamic, intriguing story of rural African-Americans waits to be told. Sharecropping and tenant farming were bleak realities for many black farmers in the postbellum South, but the efforts of a government land commission and the determination of Lower Richland farmers themselves converged to offer glimmers of economic hope, which helped the local community establish deeper roots in an area they had called home for years. In addition to presenting a more positive view of Reconstruction, this approach also engages the difficult questions of southern life in the twentieth century, as rural African Americans continued to struggle to gain economic independence and hold on to land and homes. These issues can be engaged through these momentarily and moderately successful programs, challenging entrenched assumptions and promoting awareness - two goals all public historians should strive for in their own communities."-- Abstract, pages v-vi.