Making a Home on Black-Owned Land
In her new book, ‘Rooted,’ Brea Baker unpacks the legacy of land theft in America. But first, a visit to her own backyard.
My wife, Mariah, and I now live in Atlanta, on one acre of land. Each morning, Mariah and I wake up and go about our morning routine. Let the dog out, use the bathroom, check on the chickens. As I write this, we have two roosters and nine hens. There’s Hootie, who looks a lot like an owl, and Angelica, named after the bossy little girl from Rugrats. Then there’s Logan, after our cousin whose nickname is “Chicken.” We got Little Brother’s name from the movie Mulan, and Reptar’s name also comes from Rugrats.