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~Frantz Fanon...the most essential value, because the most concrete, is first
and foremost the land: the land which will bring them bread
and, above all, dignity."“For a colonized people... -
~Frantz Fanon...the most essential value, because the most concrete, is first
and foremost the land: the land which will bring them bread
and, above all, dignity."“For a colonized people... -
“Revolution is based on land.Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of
freedom, justice, and equality..."~Malcolm X -
“How can you buy or sell the sky......the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do
not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water,
how can you buy them? Every part of this earth is sacred to
my people."~Chief Seattle
Take Action
- A CALL TO RECLAIM
- A CALL TO REPAIR
- WHY LAND
- LEARN MORE
40 Acres. 40 Cities. One Day.
LAND IS POWER. LAND IS LIBERATION. LAND IN THE COMMONS.
On Juneteenth 2017 (Monday, June 19th) Black people across the country will be taking back land and reclaiming space, from vacant lots to empty school buildings. We are taking back land that should be used for the good of the people; land that has historically been denied access to Black people. Through these actions, we will confront the institutions that have been built off the extracted wealth of Black bodies and Black land and the individuals who have profited from them.
CALL TO REPAIR RELATIONS THROUGH REPARATIONS
While we take action with our own labor, we also call for a return of accumulated wealth to Black people in the US and Black people across the diaspora. We call on folks across the U.S. to take up this annual call for repairing our relations. For white folks and others who have access to or benefit from accumulated wealth, this means identifying ways to transfer land title, capital, and other resources to Black-led self-determining sanctuary projects.
We call for both institutional and individual reparations this Juneteenth and every Juneteenth.
Land is essential in the fight for self-determination and liberation for Black folks. The Call to Reclaim is an intervention to shift the national narrative to incorporate both reparations from a land-based lens as well as to make the connections between land and liberation for Black folks. We see Black folks collectively engaging in land reclamation with the goal of shifting our relationship to the land, engaging in healing while creating hubs for movement work to be housed, cultivated and birthed. We believe Black folks, in this moment, can call on our Maroonage legacy to support the creation of Black safe spaces.
We call for a return of accumulated wealth to black people in the US and black people across the diaspora. We call for a release of stolen land. We vow to work with integrity and build partnership with those whose lands were stolen and with the land itself. We vow to continue the struggle, to build black community, institutions, and power until we are returned what is rightfully ours.
JOIN THE INFO CALL
Join us May 24th at 5pmPST/8pmEST to learn how you can join us in your city on June 19th. Register today
We call for a return of accumulated wealth to black people in the US and black people across the diaspora. We demand a release of stolen land. We intend to work with integrity and build partnership with those whose lands were stolen and with the land itself.
Our Manifesto


The beneficiaries of the harm done to our people have a moral responsibility to address that wrong. Apologies are not sufficient.






These are the collective words of Black farmers, Black healers, Black educators, Black dreamers and Black organizers who are a part of the Black Land and Liberation initiative.
About Us
Black Land & Liberation!
The Black Land and Liberation Initiative is a vision, strategy and training program grounded in black liberation and anchored by black leadership. Our aim is to develop diverse and interdependent strategies that move us away from the current extractive economy which depends on the violent enclosure of land, labor, culture, power, wealth and spirit. We are asserting the fundamental right to the resources required to create our own productive, dignified and sustainable livelihoods through our own free labor and self-governance. Key among those resources is land. We will co-create strategies for transformation which are grounded in a long-term vision, guided in the resilience, culture, and creativity of our ancestry, rooted in our sovereignty, and which we can begin putting into place NOW.
The Black Land and Liberation Initiative is anchored by BlackOut Collective, Movement Generation and a diverse cohort of Black organizers from across the country.
We are working with groups of folks across the country to launch a trans-local, Black-led land reclamation and reparations initiative co-created by us and the participants. We are guided by reverence for ancestral knowledge, black love, and collective responsibility.
Our Frameworks & Values
We view direct actions in 4 frames. We value these frames because it reminds us that there is a diversity of tactics.
A Just Transition requires us to build a visionary economy for life in a way that is very different than the economy we are in now. Constructing this visionary economy calls for strategies that democratize, decentralize and diversify economic activity while we damper down consumption, and (re)distribute resources and power.
These 4 models are examples of land-based reparations.
These values were created with the 1st cohort of the Black Land and Liberation Initiate, we offer these values as guides for your actions on June 19th,2017
We are working with groups of folks across the country to launch a trans-local, Black-led land reclamation and reparations initiative co-created by us, the participants. We are guided by reverence for ancestral knowledge, black love, and collective responsibility.
DONATE TO BLLI
We must transfer wealth from where it has been concentrated and wielded as a chainsaw against Black bodies, Indigenous lands, and the very planet upon which we all depend. This capital is stolen from the living world — it comes from the labor of Black peoples stolen and enslaved to build the US empire on stolen Indigenous lands.
It must be returned to those communities it has been stolen from in order to begin to repair the damage.
Please tag your donation as BLLI.Indigenous lands. It must be returned to those communities it has been stolen from in order to begin to repair the damage.
Please tag your donation as BLLI.