Bernice Alexander Bennett, with Lyle Gibson, Susan Lasley, Jessica Trotter, and Angela Walton-Raji: “Black Homesteaders of the South”  

Author of Black Homesteaders of the South Bernice Alexander Bennett will provide an overview of the Homestead Act of 1862, the application process it took to acquire up to 160 acres of public land, and what is available to researchers in land entry case files. She will be joined by scholars and researchers Lyle Gibson, Susan Lasley, Jessica Trotter, and Angela Walton-Raji, who will share information about their Arkansas ancestors.  

Link to presentation on CALS YouTube channel

Slide presentation from January 2023 Legacies & Lunch

Links referenced in presentation (in the order of appearance):

• Homesteading in Arkansas (National Park Service website)
• Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records
• Land Entry Case Files
• HistoryGeo.com
• Black Homesteaders (National Park Service website)
• Descendants of African American Homesteaders Facebook Group
• Order your land entry case file from the National Archives
• Write and share your story with the Homestead National Historical Park