how did cassie come to understand the importance of her family living on its own land

Land as a symbol of independence

Repeated again and again throughout the book is a refrain spoken by Big Mama, Mama, and Papa: "we won't lose the land." In a culture where the memory of slavery is still strong, land is a symbol of independence and autonomy. Because they own land, the Logans can afford to shop in Vicksburg and are not beholden to the whims of landlords as sharecroppers are. Unlike Mr. Granger who sees the land as a symbol of his family's "rightful" domination over blacks, for the Logans, the land is intrinsically linked to family. Cassie says that it doesn't matter whose name the deed is in because it will always be "Logan land." It is only when she realizes the seriousness of the threats to her family and their land that she cries "for...the land" at the end of the book.