NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Jermal Sanders fell in love with farming as a child. When he saw the seeds he planted produce fruit, he began to take farming more seriously. He took agriculture classes in middle school — from gardening to horticulture. As a 26-year-old, he’s building a farm to call his own. On a scorching […]
Rural Issues
Posted inEconomic Development, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
One of America’s Last Black Homesteads Is Fighting to Preserve Its Full Story
Beverly Steele didn’t realize her hometown could be recognized for its historic significance. It’s one of the only two African American homesteading communities left in the nation. In Royal, Florida, Black families are still holding onto the inherited 40-acre plot passed down nearly two centuries ago. It’s a rare reality in America today, given the […]
Posted inAgriculture, Black Farmers, Rural Issues
Black Farmers Sue USDA Over $127 Million in Canceled Grants
When Sharon Mallory’s nonprofit received a $13 million federal grant to help farmers, it felt like a blessing and answered prayer. Through the 2020 Farmers Cooperative, the group had planned to purchase equipment and land and offer technical assistance to Black farmers. But in March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency snatched those […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Rural Issues
Sapelo Island Residents Won a Major Vote, but Their Fight Continues
Sometimes, Josiah “Jazz” Watts can’t remember a time when he and other Gullah Geechee descendants weren’t fighting for their homeland. It’s been four months since McIntosh County, Georgia, voters overwhelmingly rejected a zoning ordinance that could have resulted in higher taxes, attracted more developers, harmed local businesses, and led to Geechee displacement. The January referendum […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Black Ranchers Got No Help After Their Cattle Were Stolen, So They Fought to Change the Law
A month after shots were fired at their rural Colorado ranch, Courtney “CW” and Nicole Mallery can finally celebrate some good news with a legislative win. When the couple reported their cattle stolen from their Freedom Acres Ranch, they say they didn’t receive any help from their local law enforcement officials. They went directly to […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Black Farmers Aren’t Waiting on Washington to Save Them
SHANNON, Mississippi — What seemed like almost an empty building on a recent Saturday morning quickly filled with dozens of Black people — from retired federal employees to university officials and even education and land appraisal experts. They greeted one another while signing in at the Saving Rural America Small Farmers Conference. Some hugged before […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Rural Issues
Railroad Wins Appeal to Take Generations-Old Land in Rural Georgia
Months ago, Blaine Smith was afraid that the Georgia Court of Appeals would allow a railroad company to seize part of his family’s generations-old land. That fear came true Wednesday when the court upheld a lower court’s decision to let Sandersville Railroad exercise eminent domain to take properties from several landowners in Sparta, Georgia, to […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Housing, Rural Issues
In Rural Mississippi, a Black Town Bets on New Homes to Build Wealth
JONESTOWN, Mississippi — Felisha Stevenson has lived her whole life in this all-Black town of 852 people where everybody knows everybody. “My family, my mom, my cousin, my uncles, we’re just close,” the 40-year-old said. “In the neighborhood that I stay in right now, my sister is next door. My uncle is across the street.” […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
How to Find Black Farmers in Your Area and Support Them
Black farmers make up less than 1% of total U.S. farmers today, significantly less than there were more than a century ago. For decades, Black farmers have been disproportionately impacted by land loss, loan rejections, and fewer resources than their white counterparts, Capital B has previously reported. Since Donald Trump took office in 2025, his […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Colorado Ranchers Fear For Their Lives After Shooting On Farm
Courtney “CW” and Nicole Mallery believed they had moved to greener pastures after being displaced by a hurricane. They moved to Yoder, Colorado, an unincorporated town where they could nurture their animals and grow food on their 1,000-acre ranch. What the married couple say they’ve encountered, however, nearly cost them their lives. During Easter weekend, […]