I designed Black Landcestry to help connect Justice Seekers—people and families affected by land theft—with the professional support they need to investigate their cases and pursue possible restitution in the form of land back and/or financial compensation.

We are building a network of professionals who are seeking to earn a living while doing meaningful, purpose-driven work. We are looking for individuals who are passionate about making a difference and who can bring their knowledge, skills, experience, and expertise to this important work.

We are currently seeking the following professionals:

• Advocacy Strategist

  An Advocacy Strategist helps Justice Seekers develop effective, customized strategies to achieve their reparative justice goals. Drawing on proven advocacy best practices and successful reparative justice campaigns, they provide guidance on influencing policy, driving social change, mobilizing communities, engaging key stakeholders, building public support, and creating meaningful, real-world impact.

• Activation Organizer

  An Activation Organizer works closely with Justice Seekers, their families, and their communities to plan, coordinate, and execute effective activations, including marches, protests, press conferences, rallies, and other forms of public action. Drawing on prior community and activation organizing experience, they serve as a trusted on-the-ground representative for Justice Seekers, providing logistical coordination, community engagement, day-of support, and other services necessary to ensure activations are safe, organized, impactful, and aligned with the goals and needs of those involved.

• Legal Observer

  A Legal Observer is a trained person who attends protests, demonstrations, marches, and other public actions to monitor and document interactions between activation participants and law enforcement or other authorities from a legal-rights perspective.

• Civil Rights Attorney

  A Civil Rights Lawyer defends individuals and communities whose fundamental liberties and constitutional rights have been violated. They litigate cases involving discrimination, police misconduct, and systemic injustice to ensure equal protection under the law.

• Real Estate Attorney

  A Real Estate Lawyer handles the legal complexities of buying, selling, and developing property. They draft contracts, resolve title disputes, and navigate complex zoning laws to ensure secure and legally compliant real estate transactions.

• Paralegal

  A Paralegal provides essential support by conducting legal research, organizing case files, and drafting legal documents. They manage the critical behind-the-scenes preparation for trials and hearings to ensure legal proceedings run efficiently and accurately.

• Media Campaign Strategist

  A Media Campaign Strategist helps Justice Seekers develop and execute tailored traditional and digital media campaigns that advance their reparative justice goals. They provide strategic guidance on media planning, messaging, audience engagement, content strategy, public relations, and digital outreach to build awareness, influence public opinion, and drive meaningful action.

• Content Creator

  A Content Creator develops compelling digital content—including videos, articles, graphics, and social media posts—that supports a Justice Seeker’s media campaign and reparative justice goals. They create platform-specific content designed to educate, inspire, and mobilize target audiences, build community support, increase engagement, and encourage meaningful action.

• Influencer

  An Influencer leverages their credibility, audience, and social media presence to support a Justice Seeker’s media campaign and reparative justice goals. They amplify campaign messages by sharing content with their followers, raising awareness, building public support, and encouraging their audience to take meaningful action in support of the campaign.

• Journalist

  A journalist is a professional who gathers, verifies, and analyzes information to report on current events, trends, and issues. Their work is published or broadcast across various media platforms, including newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and digital news websites.

• General Researcher

  A General Researcher gathers, analyzes, and synthesizes information from diverse sources to support a Justice Seeker’s land claim. They produce evidence-based research, detailed reports, and chronological timelines that strengthen claim initiatives, help secure legal representation, and provide a factual foundation for advocacy, media campaigns, and other reparative justice efforts.

• Historian

  A Historian researches, analyzes, and interprets historical records, primary sources, and other evidence related to a Justice Seeker’s land claim. They provide historical context, document patterns of land dispossession, preserve cultural memory, and produce evidence-based analyses that help Justice Seekers understand how past events contributed to land theft and support their pursuit of reparative justice.

• Legal Researcher

  A Legal Researcher analyzes statutes, case law, regulations, and legal precedents relevant to a Justice Seeker’s land claim. They synthesize complex legal findings into comprehensive, evidence-based reports that strengthen the Justice Seeker’s general research, support legal representation, and help inform case strategy and reparative justice efforts.

• Property Genealogist

  A Property Genealogist researches the historical ownership, transfer, and lineage of specific homes, buildings, and parcels of land. They examine property records, historical documents, and genealogical evidence to determine whether a Justice Seeker’s ancestors can be traced to land or property previously owned, occupied, or connected to their family history. Their findings provide valuable evidence and historical context to support land claim initiatives and reparative justice efforts.

• Research Assistant

  A Research Assistant provides critical support to primary researchers by gathering, cataloging, and synthesizing diverse data sets. They execute precise operational tasks, perform literature reviews, and manage detailed records to advance complex research projects.

• Editor, Blogger, Columnist and Journalist

  Media and Content Professionals who use research, investigation, writing, editing, and storytelling skills to create compelling news, commentary, and feature content about a Justice Seeker’s claim. They develop, refine, and distribute content across diverse media platforms to inform, educate, and engage audiences, while increasing public awareness, shaping public narratives, and supporting advocacy efforts that advance reparative justice.

• Petition Writer

  A Petition Writer develops compelling formal requests and public petitions through platforms such as Action Network, Color Of Change, and Change.org to amplify collective voices and advance a Justice Seeker’s goals. They craft persuasive messaging, structure evidence-based arguments, support signature collection efforts, and help coordinate campaigns designed to influence institutional, public, and legislative decision-making.

• Press Release Writer

  A Press Release Writer develops compelling announcements to communicate a Justice Seeker’s land claim campaigns to news and media outlets. They craft clear, newsworthy messaging, refine content to meet editorial standards, and structure releases to support journalists’ needs, increase media interest, and secure targeted coverage that advances public awareness and reparative justice efforts.

If you are a professional who wants to use your skills to help families investigate land theft and pursue justice, we want you on the platform.

Please visit blacklandcestry.com to download the Black Landcestry App from the Apple App Store or Google Play and create your professional profile.

This is bigger than an app.

It is about connecting expertise with families seeking answers, accountability, land back, and economic justice.

#BlackLandcestry #BlackLandBack #ReparativeJustice #EconomicJustice #LandJustice #BlackLandOwnership #JusticeSeekers #Genealogy #BlackHistory #SocialJustice #Reparations #CommunityPower #PurposeDrivenWork

Here’s where we are in the release process:

We’re currently in the Beta Testing phase. During this stage, a select group of testers use the app and provide valuable feedback to help us identify what’s working well and what needs improvement. This process is essential to ensuring we deliver the best possible experience.

Once beta testing is complete, we’ll open the app to Professionals, who will be able to download it, create their profiles, and prepare to connect with clients.

Shortly after that, we’ll launch for Justice Seekers, giving them access to a network of professionals who can support them on their journey toward reparative justice.

We’re getting closer every day, and we can’t wait to share what’s coming. Thank you for being part of this journey and for believing in the mission.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — June 2026 — In 2020, national attention turned to California when activist Kavon Ward and her organization, Justice for Bruce’s Beach, helped the descendants of Charles and Willa Bruce reclaim ownership of Bruce’s Beach, a beachfront property in Manhattan Beach that had been taken from the family through racially motivated eminent domain, nearly a century earlier.

The historic victory sparked a national conversation about stolen land, racial injustice, and the lasting impact of dispossession on Black families. What many people did not see, however, was the wave of calls, emails, and messages that followed.

Families from across the United States began reaching out to Ward with stories of land lost through racial violence, fraudulent schemes, discriminatory government policies, heirs’ property disputes, eminent domain abuse, and other forms of unjust dispossession. Many were searching for answers. Others were seeking guidance. All were looking for a path forward.

In response, Ward founded Where Is My Land, an initiative dedicated to helping families investigate claims of lost land and explore potential avenues for justice. Over the next several years, she consulted with nearly 1,000 families seeking information about property taken from their ancestors and the options available for restitution, recovery, or repair.

Despite the growing demand for its services, Where Is My Land was targeted and completely defunded in 2025, forcing the organization to cease operations.

Now, Ward is launching Black Landcestry, a first-of-its-kind platform dedicated to helping descendants and communities affected by land theft, displacement, property fraud, and other forms of historical injustice connect with attorneys, researchers, genealogists, advocates, and other professionals equipped to help them uncover lost histories, reclaim their narratives, and pursue meaningful pathways to restitution.

“Having to shut down Where Is My Land was a devastating loss for justice seekers fighting to repair the harms caused by racially motivated land loss. But the movement I started in 2020 did not end there. Black Landcestry represents my decision to alchemize that loss into action — creating a necessary pathway toward reparative justice,” Ward said.

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