On the eve of LLPP's 25th anniversary...
In 2008, the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers' Land Loss Prevention Project celebrates 25 years of providing service and assistance to limited resource and financially distressed individuals and communities. This 25th Anniversary celebration marks the continuation of a public and private commitment to justice, equality, and community land security.
The North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers' Land Loss Prevention Project was established in 1983 through the foresight of a group of visionaries who recognized that land is, and has been, the basis for economic stability in North Carolina and the United States. These individuals knew that people of color and the impoverished were most susceptible to the threat of land loss. They recognized that North Carolina needed an organization capable of attacking the loss of land at its roots. Thus, the idea of creating a cadre of pro bono lawyers working across the state, in tandem with a centralized group of uniquely qualified lawyers working on land retention issues, germinated into what is now known as the Land Loss Prevention Project.
During the past 25 years, the Land Loss Prevention Project has grown steadily. The office in Durham, North Carolina serves as the processing point for statewide service delivery. A close relationship with North Carolina Central University's School of Law allows the organization to interact with and train young lawyers to help prevent land loss in poor and minority communities.
Over the past 25 years, the Land Loss Prevention Project has provided legal advice, technical support, and legal representation to more than 20,000 persons and communities. Our organization has kept more family farmers on the land through direct assistance than any other organization in the state. We have been a leader in the protection of farmers’ rights, a champion of reform for heir property issues, a catalyst for change in the area of state fair housing law, an innovator in the creative use of civil rights laws to eviscerate public and private discrimination, and a pacesetter for alternative financing that fosters community economic development and investment.
As we gear-up to celebrate this 25th anniversary and recognize our many accomplishments, we remain cognizant of the many challenges ahead. There are times when the work we do is unpopular because it demands justice and equity of our society before society is ready to relinquish the vestiges of injustice and inequality. Nevertheless, with your support, faith in humanity, persistence, and perseverance, the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers’ Land Loss Prevention Project will advance into a future offering better opportunities for all North Carolinians.
