Remembering Black Farmers

Born in Alabama, my Father’s family moved to Rochester NY when he was a boy, where my Grandfather got a Pastorship. My Dad told me Grandpa grew all of their vegetables , and when they wanted milk, there was a man across the street who owned a cow, and they would trade or purchase from him.

That was in the 1920’s and 30’s in the midst of the Great Migration, the  time when African Americans left the mean old South for the promise and industry of the North. Many people who migrated to cities found themselves living in apartments and dwellings that didn’t have access to a plot of land on which to grow food. It was also psychologically a time when African Americans broke from the work they’d done during slavery. Many sought education, some sought factory jobs. All were seeking a better, new way of life.

The number of black farmers in America peaked in 1920, when there were 949,889. Today, of the country’s 3.4 million total farmers, only 1.3%, or 45,508, are black. And slowly the practice of growing one’s own food fell out of favor, buying all of your food in a  supermarket was something of a status symbol, you didn’t get your hands dirty. Why bother when you could pick it up at the store?

These days , we’re witnessing a resurgence, a renaissance of “growing your own”. Over the years and the many betrayals of Big Agriculture; the misuse of the land and ruin of food from factory farming , harmful pesticides, irradiation, inhumane livestock practices, and genetic modification, has led to nutrient and mineral deficient foods laced with poison. Our food system has become so profit driven that little care is given to what affect  these Frankenfoods have on an actual human body.

Enter the health food movement, organic foods, natural foods , pastured meats ,and even growing your own. Now that some consumers have returned to the practice of growing food and more and more folks are casting a scrutinizing eye on where their food is coming from, as well as how its grown,  another troubling fact becomes apparent; we have far fewer African American farmers than we once did.

Why is this? The simple answer is systemic racism. Black farmers are more frequently denied the loans they require for their businesses. They are discriminated against again when it comes time to sell their product. Some Black farmers even enlist white friends to take their goods to market because they’ll get a better price for the Black farmer than he could get on his own.

But Black Farmers have been fighting back. Led by farmer Dr John Boyd of Virginia, In 1997, 401 Black farmers sued the USDA in the landmark lawsuit Pigford v Glickman, which alleged that from 1981 to 1997, USDA officials ignored complaints brought to them by Black farmers and that they were denied loans and other support because of rampant discrimination. In 1999, the government settled the case for $1bn, and more than 16,000 black farmers received $50,000 each.

Many Black farmers learned too late of the lawsuit, but Boyd went to bat and in December 2010, President Obama signed a bill authorizing an additional $1.25bn in compensation to the late claimants, settling the lawsuit known as Pigford II.

In hopes and anticipation of a fair and just world, in hopes of a sustainable, healthy food system for all, this February for Black History Month, SoLA salutes our Black Farmers.