Black Homesteaders of the South, with Bernice Alexander Bennett

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The Homestead Act of 1862, the Emancipation Proclamation and subsequent Reconstruction amendments didn’t just abolish slavery—they gave African Americans a chance to earn a living and own land. Even though their names were never mentioned alongside the other rugged heroes of frontier lore, a startling number of homesteaders were Black men and women in the South, toiling on familiar land but now in unfamiliar fashion—as owners. For many of these Black pioneers, this meant risking their lives to achieve this American promise of freedom. Author Bernice Alexander Bennett sets to change the narrative about the largely unknown Black homesteaders in the South.

Bernice Alexander Bennett is an award-winning author, genealogist, nationally recognized guest speaker, storyteller and producer-host of the popular Research at the National Archives and Beyond BlogTalkRadio program. She is also the first recipient of the Ida B. Wells Service Award, given by the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage, for her dedication to broadcast stories about enslaved and indentured ancestors of African descent. She also received the Elizabeth Clark-Lewis Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) Genealogy Award in 2019 for original research in support of African American genealogy. Bennett is a volunteer with the Homestead National Historical Park Service and has devoted her grass-roots skills to identifying and encouraging descendants of Black homesteaders to share their stories.

Our programs are made possible in part by operating support grants from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State - additionally through a grant administered by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, Department of Parks and Recreation; and by a 2023 HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant from the Union County Board of County Commissioners.