Author, agricultural attorney and nonprofit leader Jillian Hishaw’s grandfather’s land in Oklahoma was stolen. An attorney who the family had hired to pay the farm’s taxes instead kept the money and sold the land. Years later, the Hishaw family discovered that the home had been replaced by an oil pump, leading them to believe that knowledge of oil on the land was the reason for the theft. Now, Hishaw advocates for other Black farmers through the court system to help preserve their land ownership.
According to Capital B News, Hishaw was inspired by her family’s history to help make a difference for other Black families. She received a law and master’s degree in agricultural law, and she later launched her own practice and the international nonprofit FARMS, or Family Agriculture Resource Management Services. The initiative provides legal assistance to Black farmers and aims to prevent land loss.
“Some of the plaintiffs I represent have received relief, and that definitely keeps me motivated to continue,” Hishaw told Capital B News.
However, the process has been complicated. As an attorney, Hishaw has faced multiple challenges due to the courts refusing to listen to her clients’ claims.
“I feel as though that these [discrimination] cases are blatant racism. The evidence is there. I just really want the families to have peace of mind before my clients pass away because they’re not young, they’re not spring chickens, even though they raise the chicken. The legacy that my grandfather wanted me to leave is lost, but hopefully, through these farm cases, it can be restored,” she said.
She talked about a class-action lawsuit filed last year by several white farmers who claimed a debt relief program had racially discriminated against them, per Capital B News.
“It’s just been difficult. With all of the [dozens of] lawsuits filed by the white farmers, they got discovery within days, and they got an injunction within days,” Hishaw explained. “For me representing all Black farmers, whether it’s in front of whatever court, they’re not even giving me discovery,” she added, referring to when both parties must give each other information and documents about a case before heading to trial.
The fight for land ownership is something many Black farmers have had to face in recent years. Marvin Smith, a Black landowner in rural Georgia, went to court several times to keep his family’s land. Smith owns a portion of his family’s 600-acre land that has been part of their lineage since 1926. The land has been used to pay for education and serves the community through farming.
Capital B News reported that Smith and several other Black residents refused to sell their property. As a result, the Sandersville Railroad Co. filed a petition with the Georgia Public Service Commission to seize the land through eminent domain. The railroad company intended to use the land to create a railroad in Sparta, Georgia.
“The American dream says if you play by the rules and work hard, justice will prevail and you will be rewarded,” Smith said, according to Capital B News. “It never occurred to me … over 43 years of playing by the rules … I would end up in a position where my land could be taken through eminent domain.”
