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Murdine Berry: Holding On To The Land

  Despite attempted threats on her life, at the age of 75, Murdine Berry is strong and steadfast in her commitment to maintain the land purchased in 1876 in Dallas (Hutchins), Texas, by her great grand parents, James and Catherine Morney, after their release from enslavement. While she maintains that the actually land is at least 129 acres, in 1989, she was awarded nearly 80 acres by the courts and since that time, she has been terrorized through cross burnings and murder attempts. ‘The first thing this happened, was in about 1992. My mother was visiting me at the time, and when we returned home there was a cross burning on the property, just glazing. I called the police and about 30 cars came out. The next morning the cross was gone, and the police never did bothered to contact me afterwards with any news”.

Although she could not recall the exact year, she clearly recalls the date when an attempt was made on her and her family’s lives on a December 24th at 10:56 pm, Mrs. Berry was watching her small grandchildren, when someone began firing shots at the house, from what may have been a machine gun, in fact, she described it as sounding like a war zone. “My husband got his .38 and went to porch and fired back. At that point we could see them running across the yard”.
Mrs. Berry says the next terrorist act against her, caused her to contact the FBI and occurred when her sister was visiting, and the electricity went out and the smell of gas began to fill the room. “I went to find my husband and he was in the den, lying on the floor, right by the heater and gas was just coming out of that heater and a fire was burning in the fire place. My husband was afraid, he wanted to be able to protect his family, he was a healthy man, but it got to place where it became too much. He died of a broken heart, heart trouble and hypertension. He was a kind man, very easy going, always calm. And this is why I have to push forward. He wanted to see this place develop.”

Mrs. Berry was also the victim of a car fire- bomb after her brother ran out of gas while driving her car, and had to leave it on the side of the road. When they returned with gasoline, the car had caught on fire. Her car was taken to Lancaster, where the fire chief accused her of setting her own car on fire, “No body knows what I have been through. The fire chief interrogated me. He shook his finger at me and said, ‘you burned it’, and tried to force me to sign papers.”
Many made claims to the land, but she had heard through family members, that the land was never divided, therefore, she began to search the records and found other names appearing that no one knew anything about. She had to fight them all, “it was such a fight, I had to sue the Denton State School, a bails bondman, an attorney and a man from Hobbs, New Mexico and of course they were all white. The evidence in my favor was overwhelming and the court trial only lasted for one week.”

As claimers came in to steal the land, they did not know about Mrs. Berry’s mother, because she went off to college. At that time there was one direct living heir, which was a grandson, Mrs. Berry’s uncle. However, because no one knew about her mother, they did not know about her either. Upon completing college, she began helping with the taxes on the land. Mrs. Berry has worked hard to develop the place to make it a legacy. Early in the morning until late in the evening, she is out working the land, in efforts to get it ready to open up for touring and for her annual Juneteenth Celebration. Nine cabins sit on the land called Freedom Village, named so, according to Mrs. Berry, because they finally freed us. He great grandfather purchased the land and expected the family to own it forever. The cabins are homes of replicas of slave dwellings and family collections. There is also a patio, a pavilion, old farm equipment, and other artifacts. One of the cabins holds the court records and articles from the legal fight.
The terrorism has not stopped. According to Mrs. Berry, just in the last few weeks, “they” had been in her house, took some personal items and even some land records which were hidden. “When I tell you that they were coming in and out of my house, I mean every word of it, and I can pass any lie detector test, when I tell you this. I saw a tall white male running from the back. When the sheriff came out, he asked me, “what color were his eyes?”

Mrs. Berry is still fighting, and says she needs legal help as she continues to fight After the judge awarded her certain tracks, three men have torn down the last old existing house, of which photos were presented in court, to put up a fence, trying to claim the land for themselves. She is writing to Governor Rick Perry, the U.S. Attorney General, the Texas Attorney General and Pres. George Bush, as he is focusing on terrorist acts.
For others going through similar struggles, or who believe they are an heir to some land, Mrs. Berry advises that a heir list is needed first, that is a listing of all the heirs of a family tree, going as far back as possible, to date. Research must be conducted to look for land deed records and other documents. Much patience is required for this.

Meanwhile, Murdine Berry will continue to hold on to the land that has been in her family for 128 years. She will continue to build a strong and solid legacy, and she will continue to work the land, which she so dearly loves.