Belay Alem is an international student who was born and raised in the Northern part of Ethiopia. He is a Ph. D candidate in the Department of Anthropology.
Before starting Ph.D. study at UF, he received his LL. B in Law and LL.M in Business and Corporate Law from Bahir Dar University School of Law. After graduating with his degrees, he served as a Lecturer of Law and an Executive Director for Administrative Affairs at the same university he studied.
Belay’s Ph.D. project delves into the intricate interplay of social and legal frameworks influencing the ownership, inheritance, and taxation of heirs’ property collectively held by African-American communities in Alachua County, Florida. Heirs’ property refers to real estate, typically land or property, owned by multiple heirs because of intestate succession, meaning the original owner passed away without leaving a valid will to specify how the property should be distributed among their heirs. After the death of an intestate ancestor, heirs’ property may be collectively inherited within kinship networks, often leading to insecure ownership rights due to the absence of a will. Consequently, co-heirs need help in maintaining sustainable ownership of the property.
By employing a dual approach of historical and ethnographic analysis, he seeks to address key research questions with the objectives of:
- Uncovering processes and conditions contributing to the property dispossession experienced by African Americans.
- Analyzing the mechanisms through which legal and social frameworks influence property inheritance within African American communities and understanding the strategies employed to reconcile conflicts that may exist between social rules.
Belay has been doing archival research and fieldwork to attain these goals since 2021. He was doing intensive fieldwork in Alachua County, particularly in Gainesville, Newberry, Micanopy, Archer, and Waldo. Brlay also traveled to Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia States to conduct follow-up interviews with family members whose heirs’ property is in Alachua County, Florida. He employed creative community-based participatory research methods to ensure that he could easily immerse himself in the community. He was also able to spreadhead a community based public engagement project titled “Heirs’ Property and Intergenerational Wealth: Initiating Public Discussions” through funding obtained from UF Center for Humanities and Public Spheres. Belay created a video discussion series and contributed to the University of Florida Digital Collections.
Belay has also worked closely with Three Rivers Legal Service (TRLS) for over two years. In recognition of his community service, Belay has been selected as the 2023 recipient of TRLS’s Pro Bono Service Student Award, given to a student who has shown a dedication to supporting their community, that he will receive on the 45th Anniversary of TRLS on Oct 12, 2023.
Last Summer, Belay was employed as a Community Development Intern with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in Jacksonville. That was an invaluable opportunity for Belay to further research heirs’ property, homestead exemption, real estate tax delinquency, and tax sale notification process.
After completing his Ph.D., Belay will seek positions in academia or research institutions in profit or non-profit organizations.
Read More:
LISC Jacksonville Intern and Ph.D. Candidate Supports Heirs’ Property Work | LISC Jacksonville