Toward the Abolitionist Commons: Abolition Ecology and the Racialized Politics of Property

To date, property politics related to common property regimes, or “the commons,” has been dominated by European notions of property relations. In contrast to this tradition, this paper builds upon several specific threads of thinking to take questions of the racialization of the commons more seriously.  More specifically, I will consider how abolitionist politics that helped bring about emancipation for African-Americans can still help think through property politics.  I will use this framing to explore a cross-site research project extending between Atlanta and Sapelo Island, Georgia.  These two sites share a common historical connection dating back to the U.S. Civil War and Sherman’s March to the Sea.  Both are currently experiencing upheavals in property relations that can befit from a deeper understanding of the “abolitionist commons”.