Black Belt natives tout benefits of a national heritage area as proposal moves forward

Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect that the Black Belt Heritage Act passed the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in May. It is awaiting a vote in the full Senate. 

Congressmen from Alabama have been trying to establish the Black Belt as a national heritage area for the past decade. Now, they're a step closer.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Black Belt National Heritage Area Act, which would designate the area as a place “where historic, cultural and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes” under the National Park Service.

The classification as a national heritage area would also make the region eligible to receive up to $1 million in federal funding annually — though the National Park Service says actual appropriations typically range from $150,000 to $750,000 each year.

The Black Belt itself has a deep history of significant people, places and events that impacted the nation. Named for its rich soil, the area served as the epicenter of wealth and political power in the 19th century. It was home to the capital of the Confederacy, and it was the birthplace of the civil rights movement.

“The Black Belt is where some of the most consequential chapters of American history played out,” Rep. Terri Sewell said in a statement. “This designation will not only help preserve the rich history of the region, but will also open up new economic and tourism opportunities. As a proud daughter of the Black Belt, I thank my colleagues for passing this critical bill and will continue working to get it signed into law.”

Sewell represents Alabama’s 7th congressional district, which encompasses several Black Belt counties, and she introduced the House bill on May 13, 2021.

That same day, U.S. Sens. Richard Shelby and Tommy Tuberville introduced an identical bill in the Senate, which passed committee earlier this year and is awaiting a vote in the full Senate. The Senate would have to pass the bill before the Black Belt can be officially authorized as a national heritage area.

“This legislation has the potential to impact several future generations and is an important step toward promoting and preserving the diverse resources that exist throughout the Black Belt’s 19 counties,”  Shelby said when announcing the bill last year.

This is the second bill Shelby has been a part of to recognize the region under the National Park Service. He introduced the first in 2009 alongside Jeff Sessions.

In all versions of the bill, Alabama politicians have defined the Black Belt as these 19 counties: Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Washington, and Wilcox.

If you ask other Alabamians what counties are in the Black Belt, though, you may get different answers. Cultural, historic and geological definitions of the region all vary, but generally, Alabamians can agree that the Black Belt swoops from Pickens County across to Bullock County.

These 19 counties are already the focus of a grassroots initiative for economic development that the Center for the Study of the Black Belt at the University of West Alabama runs. The initiative is called the Alabama Black Belt Heritage Area Task Force— which is similar, but not the same as the proposed area.

If Congress establishes the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area, though, the University of West Alabama will merge the efforts.

UWA President Ken Tucker pledged the university’s support in a letter to Sewell before she first introduced the bill.

“The project is significant to our mission as a regional institution,” Tucker said.

Some of the benefits UWA hopes to see include creating a stronger sense of regional pride that could help rural counties leverage their power, and allowing the active Alabama Black Belt Heritage Area Task Force eligibility to compete for more funding.

The National Park Service finds it important to note that heritage areas are not the same as national parks. The NHA designation does not “restrict private property owners” or “empower the federal government to acquire property” within the area.

However, Congress has authorized federal acquisition of land in two national heritage areas before, in 1994 to establish the Cane River Creole park in Louisiana and in 2014 to establish the Blackstone River Valley park in New England.

In both of these cases, the National Park Service says the land was acquired from willing sellers.

Ultimately, though, the intention to create the Black Belt National Heritage Area has solid, bipartisan support throughout the state — from Gov. Kay Ivey down to rural community leaders.

Hadley Hitson covers the rural South for the Montgomery Advertiser and Report for America. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser or donate to Report for America. 

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: U.S. House passes bill to create the Black Belt National Heritage Area