Chapter Two - Jack

 Chapter Two of healing grounds gets into the historical and ongoing struggles of Black Americans in securing and maintaining land ownership. Carlisle looks into how systemic racism, including slavery, discriminatory policies, and land dispossession have all systematically excluded black communities from land access. As well as impeding on their ability to build wealth and sustain agricultural traditions.​ This chapter also shows us the resilience and innovation of black farmers. Through these struggles and challenges, they have managed to preserve their ancestors' farming practices. I think this chapter did a good job at really putting it into perspective and showing the struggles to obtain land for so many years. The one section that stood out to me was the "Forty acres and a mule". It seemed as everything was looking up with Special Field order No. 15 but then it was all just taken away. As the President Andrew Johnson rescinded the order and black people lost their land again. It just is so absurd that one man had the power to take away something he didn't give away and really had no right to. As the chapter stated these areas were then heavily trying to reinstate economic and political conditions that were unacceptable.