As we celebrate Black History Month, the Women’s Forest Congress (WFC) is looking beyond history books to the living stories of stewardship unfolding in our forests right now.

WFC is committed to a future where everyone sees the forest as a place where they belong and thrive. To truly honor that commitment, we must center the voices of those who have navigated systemic hurdles to remain the heartbeat of our forest landscapes.

This month, we are highlighting two powerful ways to engage with the legacy of Black forest ownership—a legacy that is not just historical, but a vibrant and indispensable part of the modern U.S. forestry narrative. Through a groundbreaking documentary and a rich podcast series, we invite you to learn from the experts and families who are ensuring these roots remain strong.

Family Tree (2024): A Cinematic Journey into Stewardship

Directed by Jennifer MacArthur, Family Tree is an intimate, character-driven portrait of the intersection between family identity and forest health. The film explores the staggering reality of Black land loss in America and introduces us to the families determined to reverse that trend through restorative abundance.

The documentary follows the Jefferies family in North Carolina, where sisters Natalie and Nikki Jefferies and their father, Sidney, grapple with the precarious nature of heirs’ property, which is estimated to account for around 33% of the land owned by African Americans in the US South. The film captures the sisters’ journey as they navigate the emotional and bureaucratic weight of securing their grandmother’s land, reminding us that stewardship often begins with a legal fight for the right to remain and with the often daunting task of getting to know and understand the land. Both symbolically and physically, the Jefferies have to clear a pathway into their forest to understand how its management can support their family for decades to come.

In parallel, the Williams family demonstrates the power of active management. Parents Tyrone and Edna understand their family farm, forest, and garden are a living legacy for their three sons. The family is integrating a tree farm project into Fourtee Acres, their centennial farm reaching through family roots to 1916. The parents envision a future where generational planning and succession align with sustainable income, long-term wealth creation, and environmental conservation. At the same time, the next generation moves from experiencing the land as a present burden to accepting it as a responsibility of stewardship, and ultimately embracing it as a meaningful and productive asset.

While the Jefferies are earlier in their story, coming to terms with inheritance and an almost urgency to make up for lost time, the Williams are further in their story, yet still learning and forging their way as a family.

A central thread in both stories is the presence of forestry experts like Sam Cook, Mavis Gragg, and Alton Perry. They walk the land alongside these families and gather in community-centered workshops, providing mentorship that bridges the science of silviculture with the emotional underpinnings of heritage. Family Tree demonstrates that when families have access to technical expertise, the forest becomes a powerful tool for resilience.

You can watch the trailed for Family Tree here. The film is also available to stream on a variety of platforms.

Roots to Resilience: A Roadmap of Expert Narratives

While Family Tree captures the heart of the journey on screen, the Roots to Resilience podcast series provides a rich, auditory roadmap. Produced by the Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Network (SFLR Network), this series features a diverse array of foresters, legal experts, and landowners from the SFLR Network sites who are writing the next chapter of the American forestry story.

Each episode dives into the “boots on the ground” reality of land management. You’ll hear from experts like Ebonie Alexander of the Black Family Land Trust, who discusses the “African American Land Ethic,” and landowners who share the technicalities of building family trusts and managing land across state lines. You’ll also hear stories of perseverance, trust, and healing, as families work through historic and modern challenges in securing their legacies and building their futures. 

This series makes it clear that Black forest owners are not operating in isolation; they are increasingly supported by a sophisticated network of cooperatives and professionals who are tackling land access, legacy planning, climate change, and rural economic health head-on. By listening to these narratives, we gain a deeper understanding of how intersectional perspectives, community and culturally specific outreach, and storytelling make the entire forestry sector more sustainable and resilient.

You can learn more about SFLR’s work and listen to the podcast here. 

The Path Forward

The WFC believes that the innovations we need for tomorrow won’t come from a single perspective. They will come from the collective wisdom of people with different skills, histories, and visions for the land. Our goal is to foster a broader vision for forests where diverse experiences allow us to shape a better future for the woods and for communities of all types to thrive.

We also know the power that comes from storytelling. By engaging with these stories, we aren’t just looking back at history; we are actively participating in its continuation. We recognize that systemic harms persist and continue to limit what is possible in our shared future. We believe that addressing them together provides a way forward. To learn more, explore the resources linked below.

How are you honoring these legacies in your neck of the woods this month? Share your thoughts with us on LinkedIn or Twitter using #WFC2026.