The UW's Land Tenure Center is hosting a summit on minority land loss beginning Wednesday, June 6 and continuing through June 9, at Memorial Union. The conference, Who Owns America?-III: Minority Land and Community Security will bring together leaders and grassroots activists from Canada, Mexico, and the United States to describe current strategies, share findings, and develop plans for action. The four-day event is open to the public.

Law School professors Jane Larson and Thomas Mitchell have both organized sessions that will address important minority land ownership issues. Featured speakers include Winona LaDuke (Green Party vice-presidential candidate), Joe Brooks (founder of the Emergency Land Fund formed during the Civil Rights Movement to assist African-American landowners), and David Arizmendi (Executive Director of Projecto Azteca). They will be joined by nearly 100 others who will share stories and strategies for increasing minority land holdings and protecting community security.

Oxfam America and the Smithsonian Institution, among other organizations, are sponsoring the conference.

The closing session will feature a panel of journalists discussing how to focus media attention on the critical problem of land loss in North America's communities of color.

Registration is now open. Details can be found at the Who Owns America? Web site: http://ltcweb.ltc.wisc.edu/nap/woa3.html , or by calling the Land Tenure Center at (608) 262-3658.

Submitted by on June 5, 2001

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