Greetings! It’s the final day of Black History Month 2025! Before we get into our post this week, we start with a question:
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We did not write the post for this week. We didn’t have to because Google’s generative AI program did the work for us. (It’s not plagiarizing—we attribute this to the genius of the AI pros at Google).
We are thankful that Google’s Generative AI can figure out when systemic racism exists, but still wonder why is it so hard for some humans to figure out. No really, we know it’s not really hard for them to figure out. it’s intentional. Discrimination and bigotry are American values *for many but thankfully not all. This post is shedding light on Black History as it pertains to farming.
Method: We searched using the phrase “USDA discrimination against Black Farmers” and below is the summary that Google returned (quoted text from some of the reference websites has been added):
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) discriminated against Black farmers through systemic barriers and legal practices that limited their ability to own land and succeed. This discrimination has been ongoing since the early 20th century. [1, 2, 3] Examples of USDA discrimination [1, 2]
Subsidies
The USDA allowed white landowners to keep subsidies intended for Black sharecroppers [1, 2]
Loans
Black farmers received fewer rehabilitation and tenant-purchase loans than white farmers [2] From the Legal Defense Fund:
Farmers rely on credit to keep their businesses afloat, borrowing against expected harvests to pay for equipment, livestock, seeds, and supplies, and the rent or mortgage on their land, or relying on credit to make ends meet when the price of commodities fluctuates or weather causes crop failures. Yet Black farmers have long been denied the benefits of federal programs and struggled to access loans and other resources. As a result, the number of Black farmers has plummeted: In 1920, Black farmers operated about one-seventh of all farm operations in the United States. Today, Black farmers make up less than two percent of all farmers. Between 1920 and 1997, Black farmers gave up farmland, along with income from that land, that would be worth approximately $326 billion today.
County supervisors
Discriminatory county supervisors excluded Black farmers from USDA programs [2]
Policy
USDA offices increased discrimination after Brown v. Board of Education, sometimes punishing activists and excluding Black farmers from programs [3]
Consequences of discrimination [4]
The number of Black-run farms has dropped by 96% in the last century. Black farmers now own only 3.5 million acres of land, compared to 20 million acres a century ago. [4]
The roots of this discrimination run deep. As far back as 1965, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights confirmed that the USDA discriminated against Black farmers. However, little was done to address the problem and it became systemic over decades. The consequences were devastating: the number of Black-run farms dropped by 96% over the last century. In that span, acres owned by Black farmers dwindled from 20 million to just 3.5 million. Today, a staggering 98% of all agricultural land in the US is owned by white people. Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of Legal Defense Fund, values the land loss alone – never mind the incalculable ripple effects of generational wealth robbery inflicted on Black farmers – at $326 billion.
Black farmers have filed lawsuits against the USDA, including the Pigford Lawsuits, which resulted in a $1 billion settlement in 1999. However, many Black farmers missed out on payments from the settlement. [2, 5, 6]
Generative AI is experimental.
CBW correction: The USDA itself did not discriminate; the men and women working for the USDA enacted this systemic racism and discrimination against Black farmers. It is important not to assign culpability to an agency, a company or a country as the entity doing wrong. People did this to stop progress of Black farmers and the same behaviors continue today.
Some call it “wokey” to study history and learn about the actions of the people in power, both past and present, because they don’t like truth to be known. The actual meaning of the word WOKE (as the Black people who started using it meant it to be) is to know the truth. Truth interrupts lies and long-held beliefs. To spin WOKE and yo use it as a derogatory term is a ploy to distract us from paying attention and of course, being woke. 😤
ColorBlindWork | People. Plant. Purpose. Let’s grow something!
[2] https://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/black-farmers-faq/
[3] https://southernspaces.org/2013/farmland-blues-legacy-usda-discrimination/
[4] https://www.southsideclt.org/acknowledging-a-history-of-discrimination-at-the-usda/
ColorBlindWork People | Plants | Purpose 
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