The Forgotten African American Farmers

One might often think of White or Mexican farmers when they think of our food system as it operates today. Yet, African Americans obviously have a long history in farming, due in large part to slavery. However, after slavery was abolished, African American involvement in farming continued. Rightfully feeling entitled to own a part of the land they had cultivated under opression and exploitation for generations, the motto of black former slaves became "forty acres and a mule." For a short time during the Reconstruction after the Civil War, Blacks were allowed to purchase land at reduced prices. However, the majority of the recently freed slaves still did not have enough capital or access to resources to take advantage of even this half-hearted offer. Sharecropping came into widespread use, in which the White farm owners allowed Black farmers to live on the farm and take control of a part of it. In exchange, the Black farmer would share part of the crop with the landowner. Still, this system perpetuated economic and political power in the hands of whites.

After the Reconstruction and moving through the 20th century, those African Americans who did own land suffered just as most other farmers did with the industrialization and consolidation of farming. Many lost their land and their livelihood, but minorities gave up an unequal share. Between 1900 and 1997, there was an estimated 98% loss of farmland ownership for blacks, versus only 66% loss for white farmers (Cultivating Food Justice, 2011). In recent years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been accused of racial discrimination in its dissemination of Agricultural support funds. Therefore, there has been a class-action lawsuit against the USDA on the table for a long time. Finally, after nearly a decade of court proceedings, a settlement has been reached for African American farmers. Yet this victory falls far short of equating a fair repayment to the history of loss, oppression, exploitation, and abuse of Black farmers.

http://www.americanblackfarmersproject.com/


http://articles.cnn.com/2011-10-28/us/us_black-farmers_1_african-american-farmers-national-black-farmers-association-racial-bias?_s=PM:US

-Brandon Alborg