Brian Jones: “I rise today on one issue, and I promise, out of deference to my friend, who is the Presiding Officer right now, not to…”

“I rise today on one issue, and I promise, out of deference to my friend, who is the Presiding Officer right now, not to bring up anything about college football this past weekend. That would be for another discussion. I rise today to urge my colleagues to take an important step to correct one of the great injustices in America, an injustice that many in this body may not have a full appreciation for because it just might not affect too many of their particular constituents. I am speaking of the injustices faced by real property owners known as heirs' property owners. These landowners, who are typically African-American farmers and producers in the Deep South, own land that has been informally passed down within families, often for several generations, without any clear title. Sadly, that has often led to costly legal complications, prevented landowners from qualifying for Federal assistance, and, in many cases, resulted in actual loss of land ownership. This issue overwhelmingly impacts African-American land ownership, of which an estimated 60 percent is heirs' property and has created barriers to building generational wealth. It is no coincidence that this has impacted Black landowners when you consider the challenges faced by previous generations of African Americans just to purchase their land, the obstacles they faced to obtain legal services and to have their wills prepared.…”