If you'd rather place an order by talking to one of our cheerful order desk clerks, please call 1-888-232-4444 (USA and Canada only) or 250-383-6864. From Europe, ring our UK order desk clerk at local rate number 0845 230 9601 (UK only) or 44 (0)1865 722 113.

Legacy

by Horace Cheeves and Denise Nicole Cheeves

312 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-2167; ISBN 1-4120-4359-X; US$25.95, C$32.44, EUR21.08, £14.61

You might be the heir to billions and don't even know it!

Read more!

About the Book      About the Authors      Excerpts      Catalogue Information

About the Book

Legacy is about loss of inheritance and what we can do to reclaim it. The introduction summarizes the psychological tyranny inflicted on Africans and their descendants over the course of enslavement and Jim Crow. Legacy brings the past into the present with the story of Jeff Carter, a Black man born during "slavery" who, by 1916, acquired over 800 acres of mineral-rich land in the Middle District of Georgia. In this particular region, a mineral known as "chalk" to the locals, has produced a multi-billion dollar, foreign-owned and operated industry. Kaolin, as it is officially known, is predominately used in the paper and paint industries (National Geographic is about 30% kaolin), but is also used as a filler in ceramics, cosmetics, medicine, rubber, toothpaste, etc. The majority of the mineral-laden land is owned by Black farmers, who have seen very little, if any, of the profits garnered from their land. Ninety-nine (99) year mineral leases and outright theft have kept these farmers from reaping any amount of the wealth. The heirs of Jeff Carter are one such family, who were brutally evicted from their 800 acre estate in 1950. In 1980, after many failed attempts to reclaim their estate, they were solicited by kaolin-industry agents and attorneys who represented the family who stole their land!

The heirs of Jeff Carter are not unique in their story of land loss. The quantity of land that Black farmers have lost in the last one-hundred years alone is staggering. One of the most detrimental legacies of enslavement and Jim Crow is the challenge of passing an inheritance on to our children. As a result, subsequent generations have to "reinvent the wheel," because they have neither the business nor the finances to pick up where there ancestors left off.

In recent years, a settlement was to be made to the descendants of the Rosewood massacre in Florida, but each alleged descendant was required to prove their ancestry. For this reason, we encourage all people of color to research their family's genealogy. We dedicate an entire chapter to beginning this process.

Uncovering our family history is a pivotal step in healing from centuries of psychological, economic and physical rape. If for no other reason, our children should know something about the ancestors they are a legacy of.

---

About the Authors

HORACE CHEEVES

As an organizer and advocate in the consumer movement for nearly a decade, Horace adamantly opposed the holder in due course doctrine, the discriminatory practice of redlining committed by realtors, and fraudulent car deals, as well as other acts of fraud.

Due to the rampant land and mineral loss throughout the Middle District of Georgia, Horace founded the National Association of Kaolin Landowners (NAKLo.), in 1993. NAKLo. advocates for those who have lost their land or kaolin rights through outright theft and/or fraudulent mineral leases. The organization not only supports those with kaolin, but all disgruntled landowners, including those with other natural resources (i.e. oil, coal, gas, etc.) and farmers.

DENISE NICOLE CHEEVES

After studying Art and Art History at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, School of Visual Arts in New York City, and Lorenzo De' Medici in Florence, Italy, Denise Nicole worked as an organizer of NAKLo. in Atlanta. While writing LEGACY, she freelanced as a photographer, designer, and fashion stylist. Her work has appeared in publications such as Essence, Beatdown, and HealthQuest magazine. She also assisted in the Cheeves v. Alston & Bird, et al case filed in Federal District Court in April 1994, the appeal for the Eleventh Circuit in 1998, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1999. Presently, she teaches yoga to athletes, beginners, and children in the Philadelphia area.

---

Excerpts

---

Catalogue Information

---