Publications & Media
Lincoln, Michelle. “The City Plantation: The Great Migration and Funding the Growing City.” R/evolutions. Agora (May 2021).
Abstract
During the Great Migration, a period in United States history spanning from 1910 to 1970, Black Americans left the South in search of better social and economic opportunities. During the same time period, the United States experienced rapid urbanization, and property tax mechanisms became the primary source of revenue to fund cities’ changing and growing landscapes. The convergence of these phenomena created the city plantation in which Black bodies were systematically devalued and relegated to undesirable land within the city. The government regarded the poor conditions of these spaces as acceptable for the land to have use and therefore value – value ruthlessly extracted from Black Americans.
