A Path to Independence: Shirley Sherrod on Racial Justice and the Value of Land

An interview with civil rights trailblazer Shirley Sherrod, co-founder of the nation's first community land trust

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / May 13, 2024 / Shirley Sherrod, co-founder of New Communities, the country's first collective land trust, creating a safe haven and a position of power for Black farmers removed from their land.

Foto: Accesswire

Growing up in rural Georgia, Shirley Sherrod never planned to stay in her native South. All that changed when her father, a farmer and a church deacon, was shot by a white farmer and died later that week. Sherrod was 17 at the time, about to graduate from high school.

"The thought occurred to me then, as I prayed and asked for help, that I could give up my dream of living my life in the North," Sherrod said. "I could stay in the South and devote my life to working for change."

Shirley Sherrod, 76, has spent the past half-century working for change. With her husband Charles Sherrod, a well-known civil rights leader, in 1969 she co-founded New Communities, Inc., the country's first collective land trust, creating a safe haven and a position of power for Black farmers removed from their land. When the organization lost its land to foreclosure in the 1980s, Sherrod went to work for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, where she was tasked with helping Black farmers keep their land.

The Sherrods devoted their lives to advancing voting rights, solidarity, and wealth building through land ownership. But for a new generation of housing leaders like Devin Culbertson, their story is much more than a history lesson. It's an urgent call to action.

"Movements must evolve and adapt to the current landscape and challenges. And the foundation of the Sherrods' land ownership model remains more relevant than ever," said Culbertson, vice president of innovative finance at Grounded Solutions Network.

The legacy of the Sherrods' work has spread far beyond the farmlands of southern Georgia, with the community land trust model gaining traction across the country, even in urban areas.

Together with his team at Grounded Solutions Network, Culbertson is building on that model with the support of a $3 million grant from the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge led by Enterprise and the Wells Fargo Foundation. Their winning financing innovation, the Homes for the Future Fund, aims to promote homeownership and upward mobility in Black and brown communities, while keeping homes affordable in perpetuity. Culbertson likens the grant to venture capital, critical support that offers bold leaders flexible resources and a network of expertise to advance their solutions.

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