Heirs’ Property and the Racial Wealth Gap Conference

Presented by The Initiative on Land, Housing & Property Rights at BC Law

Thursday, March 21, 2024 - Friday, March 22, 2024 | Boston College 

Note: This is a hybrid event, registration required to attend in-person or virtually. See agenda section for session details. Guests may register for either or both dates.

Heirs’ Property and the Racial Wealth Gap Conference

Well over $32 billion in real property in the U.S. is estimated to be heirs’ property, a highly unstable form of ownership. Loss of heirs’ property and heirs’ properties that lack clear title increase the racial wealth gap. Learn about the problem—and existing and potential solutions.

 

 

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

  • Screening of award-winning feature-length documentary Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land (Al Roker Entertainment), followed by Q&A with director Eternal Polk, film participants, and Tharlyn Fox from John Deere
  • Panels with senior staff from USDA, Fannie Mae, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
  • Presentation from Dr. Dewayne Goldmon, Senior Advisor, Racial Equity, USDA
  • Keynote address by Drinan Professor and MacArthur 'Genius Grant' recipient Thomas W. Mitchell, founder & director of BC Law's Initiative on Land, Housing & Property Rights
  • Panels addressing many heirs’ property issues, including partition law abuse, property tax foreclosure, clear title/tangled title matters, and racial will-making gaps
  • Panels with leading heirs' property academics, researchers, and practitioners
  • Roundtable on media’s role in uplifting Black property & heirs’ property issues with award-winning reporters, documentary filmmakers & people featured in such media pieces

 

Conference Organizer

Thomas W. Mitchell a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow, holds the Robert F. Drinan, S.J. Endowed Chair at BC Law and is founder and director of the ILHPR. He was the principal drafter of model state legislation to reduce property loss among disadvantaged families that are disproportionately Black, which 23 states and jurisdictions have adopted at this time.

BC Law

Co-sponsored by: The Institute for the Liberal Arts at Boston College

Schedule and Registration

Thursday, March 21 | 300 Hammond Pond Parkway

12:00–1:00 PM

Check-in

1:00–1:15 PM

Welcome

1:15–2:15 PM

Graduate Student Heirs’ Property Research Panel

Panelists:

  • Belay W. Alem, LL.B, B.A., LL.M, Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology, the University of Florida
  • Uju Egiebor, Graduate Student (Ph.D.), Integrative Public Policy & Development, Tuskegee University
  • Jasmine Simington, NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellow, Department of Sociology & Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan


Moderator:

  • Tes Myrie, MSc-PhD Student, Precision Forestry Lab & Remote Sensing, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia
2:15-2:30 PM

Break

2:30–4:00 PM

Roundtable: Media’s Role in Uplifting Black Property and Heirs’ Property Issues

Presenters:

  • Lyle Kendrick, Producer at VICE News
  • Lizzie Presser, Reporter at ProPublica
  • Kim Duhon, featured in The Cost of Inheritance
  • Professor Thomas W. Mitchell, Boston College Law School


Moderator:

  • Associate Professor Angela Ards, English Department, and Director of Journalism Program, African and African Diaspora Studies, Boston College
4:00-4:15 PM

Break

4:15–4:45 PM

Presentation by Dr. Dewayne Goldmon, Senior Advisor for Racial Equity to the Secretary of Agriculture

5:00-6:15 PM

Dinner

6:30–8:00 PM

Screening Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land

Please note that due to contractual obligations, we are not able to stream the documentary itself to our virtual audience; it will be shown only to in-person attendees.

8:00–8:30 PM

Gaining Ground Panel Discussion

Panelists:

  • Tharlyn Fox, LEAP Manager, John Deere Company
  • Professor Thomas Mitchell, Boston College Law School, and film participant
  • Eternal Polk, Director


Moderator: 

  • John T. Cooper, Jr., Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University.

Friday, March 22, 2024 | 300 Hammond Pond Parkway

8:00–8:45 AM

Check-in & breakfast

8:45–9:00 AM

Welcome

9:00-10:00 AM

Panel 1 - Quantifying Heirs’ Property: Methodologies and Significance

Panelists:

  • Maria Evans, Vice President for Sustainable Communities Partnerships, Fannie Mae
  • Natasha Moodie, Research Associate, Housing Assistance Council
  • Assistant Professor Ryan Thomson, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Auburn University
  • Kara Woods, Research Analyst, Socially Disadvantaged Ranchers and Farmers Policy Research Center, Alcorn State University


Moderator:

  • Cassandra Johnson Gaither, Research Social Scientist, Southern Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
10:05-11:05 AM

Panel 2: The Racial Will-Making Gap and Efforts to Close It

Panelists:

  • Professor Keeva Terry, Howard University School of Law;
  • Gal Wettstein, Senior Research Economist, Center for Retirement Research, Boston College;
  • Jesse Williams, Law Fellow, Environmental Law & Policy Clinic, Heirs’ Property Project, Wake Forest University School of Law.


Moderator: 

  • Terrence Franklin, Partner, Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise LLP.
11:15 AM-12:15 PM

Panel 3: The Role of Federal Institutions in Addressing Heirs’ Property Matters

Panelists:

  • William Cobb, Deputy Administrator for Farm Loan Programs, Farm Service Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture
  • Cassandra Johnson Gaither, PhD, Research Social Scientist, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station
  • Sarah Stein, J.D., M.A., Senior Research Adviser, Community & Economic Development, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta


Moderator: 

  • Professor Robert Zabawa, Research Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Tuskegee University.
12:30–1:30 PM

Lunch with Keynote Speech and Fireside Chat

Keynote from Professor Thomas W. Mitchell, holder of the Robert S. Drinan S.J. Endowed Chair and Director of the Initiative on Land, Housing and Property Rights at Boston College Law School. Fireside chat with Dean Odette Lienau following keynote address.

1:45–2:45 PM

Panel 4: Perspectives on Heirs’ Property Matters From Lawyers in the Trenches

Panelists:

  • Jacy Fisher, Attorney, Gregory Varner & Associates (AL)
  • Brianna Bogan, Director of Legal Services, Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation (SC)
  • Andrea Barnes, Director of Heirs’ Property, Mississippi Center for Justice (MS)


Moderator:

  • Mavis Gragg, CEO, HeirShares (NC) and Loeb Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Design
3:00–4:00 PM

Panel 5: Property Tax Foreclosures of Heirs’ Property Homes

Panelists:

  • Professor Heather Way, University of Texas School of Law
  • Andrea Bopp Stark, Senior Attorney, National Consumer Law Center
  • Kate Dugan, Staff Attorney, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia


Moderator:

  • Odette Williamson, Senior Attorney, National Consumer Law Center
4:15–5:15 PM

Panel 6: Heirs’ Property/Tangled Title Issues in the Urban Context

Panelist:

  • Octavia Howell, Manager, Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative, The Pew Charitable Trusts
  • Kristopher Smith, Community Development Program Officer, Jacksonville LISC
  • Genevieve Hébert-Fajardo, Clinical Professor of Law, St. Mary’s School of Law in San Antonio, TX
  • Scott Kohanowski, General Counsel, Center for NYC Neighborhoods
  • James Leonard, Attorney and Commissioner of Records, City of Philadelphia, PA


Moderator:

  • Nefertitti Jackmon, Community Displacement Prevention Officer, City of Austin, TX
5:15–5:30 PM

Closing Remarks

5:30–6:30 PM

Reception

Campus Map and Parking

Parking is available at the nearby Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue Garages.

Boston College is also accessible via public transportation (MBTA B Line - Boston College).

Directions, Maps, and Parking

Visitor Parking Information

Boston College strongly encourages conference participants to receive the COVID-19 vaccination before attending events on campus.

Back To Top