Episode 119: Rosalind Alexander-Kasparik on How Texas Is Still Stealing Black Owned Farmland

The Checkout speaks with Rosalind Alexander-Kasparik, whose family farm is facing seizure by the Texas Department of Transportation.

The Alexander Farm was founded in 1847 by the then-enslaved and renowned horse breeder and trainer Daniel Alexander. The farm with its family cemetery was passed down from generation to generation and is still managed by his direct descendants today. As such, the Alexanders are among the founding African American families of Austin, and the farm is one of the most historic in Travis County.

https://www.thealexanderfarm1847.org/petiton

The Alexander Farm is a historic black-owned family farm in Austin, Texas. It has been in operation since 1847, when Daniel Alexander, a talented racehorse trainer, and breeder, was given 73.3 acres of land through a verbal contract with his enslavers, the McKinney family. 175 years and seven generations later, the farm is still owned and operated by Daniel's descendants.

In 1968, the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) seized land from the Alexander farm and adjoining family cemetery through eminent domain when they rerouted US Highway 183 over Route 2.

In 2019, TXDOT once again notified the family of its plans to expand the highway once again. If completed, this would take 400 feet of land away from the abutting properties, completely demolishing all but one of the structures on the homestead and uprooting countless graves of former slaves in the family cemetery.

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Episode #119 Notes

1:00 - On Alexander Farm in Texas.

3:15 - On the farm’s historical connection to The Pony Express.

9:00 - The family’s connection to cowboys.

17:30 - Tracing the lineage of the farms’ historical roots, and the existential threat to their farm currently.

56:00 - What you can do to help support their farm.