Jeff and Hanna Hill paid $300 for 35 acres of land, joining a town named in honor of their own deliverance – “Little Egypt.” Formerly enslaved, they were determined to build a safe haven for their families. But what happened shows how racism haunts us.
After the Civil War, hundreds of thriving ”freedom colonies” popped up, but over time these lands became coveted real estate. That’s what happened to Little Egypt.
This community of sharecroppers, some still picking cotton on neighboring plantations, came home at night to their own houses – not slave shacks.
Despite a lack of indoor plumbing, dilapidated, one-room shacks, and roads that became dangerous mud canals in the rain, their tenacity, strength, and endurance remained strong. But the inevitable happened.
White developers wanted that land, encouraging city officials to refuse petitions for amenities like running water. Eventually, unable to take the poor living conditions, 200 families sold their land in 1962, and the settlement was bulldozed for expensive homes and a strip mall.
Still, Little Egypt remains a symbol of hope, the memory living on in its descendants.
Like the families of Little Egypt, we too can build strong Black communities despite racism. Even if we’re forced to sell our land, the memory of the communities we’ve built and what we’ve accomplished will live on!