Jade Stevens is on a mission to make California’s outdoors more than spaces where people of color are more than tolerated. Stevens’s mission is to create equity in access and business opportunities. That’s why she started the 40 Acre Conservation League. It’s California’s first and only Black-led conservation land trust.
Its name is a nod to a failed promise for enslaved people post-Civil War. The government promised emancipated people in the South land under Special Field Order 15 in 1865. The order required the 400,000 acres of property confiscated from Confederate slaveowners to be redistributed to Black families in 40-acre plots.
President Andrew Johnson, an enslaver himself, took back that promise after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. He returned the land to the slaveowners who originally owned it. Only 40,000 freed spaces of an estimated 4 million families reportedly received the 40 acres.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. estimated that if the government had made good on its land promise, it would be worth $800 billion. The most recent numbers estimate it would be worth more than $6 trillion.
For Stevens, she understood the value of land at an early age.
“I grew up in a family that owned land in the south, and I remember my great grandparents and even my father reminding us constantly how important it was for us to own land.”
“We were also taught how important it was to pass the land between generations to maintain wealth and the connection to nature,” she tells Travel Noire.
That wealth of knowledge engrained in her at a young age set the foundation of her work with the 40 Acre Conservation League. The league recently purchased 650 acres of land surrounded by Tahoe National Forest in Placer County. Located approximately 70 miles northeast of Sacramento, the land has lakes, trails, and space for other recreational activities.
Acquiring Land Through Conservation
In October 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order establishing a state goal of conserving 30% of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. State leaders also call the order the 30×30 initiative.
A lightbulb went off in Stevens and the people she was discussing with. They felt the state’s initiative could be a new way of returning land to the Black community.
“We saw it through conservation,” she says. “The state’s initiative to protect the land included funding to do it in a diverse and inclusive way. We saw that as the perfect timing to create this concept to acquire land and create a space to welcome everyone.”
In the U.S., about 12 percent of the land and one-quarter of the oceans are within permanently protected areas. The protected land includes marine sanctuaries, national parks, and wildlife refuges. The National Park System comprises 425 national park sites. A majority of national park visitors are white. While Black people make up a little more than 13 percent of the population in the United States, a recent study conducted by the National Parks revealed less than 1% of visitors surveyed were Black.
There are no official numbers to break down the visitors by state. However, the disparities within the industry have been apparent to Stevens. She’s had her own experiences with feeling unwanted outdoors.
“I remember store owners closing their doors, asking us if we were supposed to be in that area,” Stevens says as she recalls a cycling trip from Los Angeles to San Diego. Stevens and the women she was traveling with stopped for snacks.
“[We were] one of the only [few groups of] Black women who are out there cycling, and I think that made me think more about why that is the case. Why am I the only one? Why do I not feel welcome or safe?”
An Inclusive Space That Opens Opportunities For People of Color
The previous landowners kept the trails private. Stevens says the league plans to open the land to the public eventually.
“The number one priority is to maintain and sustain the land, which requires us to research and study the risks to prevent wildfires and ensure it’s sustainable.”
She adds, “I’m also excited about the recreational opportunities from this. There’s a stereotype that Black people don’t like the outdoors, but that couldn’t be further from the truth […] the issue around Black people being outdoors is safety.”
Through the league, Stevens says she and her team plan to create a safe environment for all visitors by partnering with other people and businesses who understand the need for inclusive outdoor spaces.
Some short-term activities Stevens hopes to bring to the land include fishing on the 30-acre lake on-site, canoeing, camping, and more.
“Looking long term, we’re looking forward to how many people and diverse businesses we can bring along the way. We’re the first Black-led land trust in the state, but we don’t want to be the last.”
Stevens says while the league has received the money for the land, the work has just begun for repurposing the land. She says the league still needs support with funding and ideas. One of the best ways people can support their efforts is by showing up and continuously showing interest. Stevens says people can stay updated on their latest by signing up for the newsletter.