Lester Bonner purchased a tractor, hay baler, and two hay combines for his 113-acre wheat farm when he learned he’d have $50,000 of his loans wiped clean as a result of a debt relief program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Many more farmers invested in their farms in anticipation of the forgiveness of loans […]
Black Farmers
Posted inBlack Farmers, HBCUs, Rural Issues
Black Farmers Mobilize to Protect Vital HBCU Scholarship
In the two weeks since the White House reversed course on the 1890 National Scholars Program and lifted its suspension, Kendall Strickland still feels a sense of unease about the program’s future. Created in 1992, the program covers full tuition and room and board for underserved or rural students interested in studying food, agriculture, natural […]
Posted inBlack Farmers
Black Farmer Goes From Crops to Fashion
When Jonathan Miller isn’t traveling or sitting courtside at Milwaukee Bucks games, he’s back at his farm in Portland, Oregon. The growing season in the northwestern state, which has been his home since 2015, provides him with the flexibility to manage Doe Doe Farms, run his custom apparel business, and serve as head of security […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Politics & Policy, Rural Issues
Can the Farm Bill Bridge the Gap for Black Farmers?
Time is of the essence for farmers like Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin. Bellfield El-Amin and others are looking to Congress for emergency aid in this year’s farm bill. With intense weather conditions, funding struggles, and decline in revenue, Black farmers can’t afford a delay. After months of bickering, Republicans and Democrats reached a deal on a […]
Posted inAir Pollution, Black Farmers, Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Land Pollution, Rural Issues
How Black Communities Are Leading the Fight Against Climate Change
In Oakland’s Lower Bottoms, a once-polluted truck corridor has been transformed into a green oasis — solar panels now shimmer above vibrant community gardens, and kids say they can play outside without the familiar sting of wheezing lungs. It’s a vision of environmental justice led by Black communities, and it’s happening all across the country. […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Politics & Policy
Decades of USDA Racism Leave Black Farmers Fighting for Equality
Lloyd Wright has worked with 10 presidents since the early 1960s and seen how both Republicans and Democrats have failed to address Black farmers’ civil rights complaints and correct institutional racism within the United States Department of Agriculture. “Many Black farmers refer to USDA as being the last plantation, and the reason for that is, […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Black Farmers See a Decline, Yet New Growers Stay Determined
This story was originally published on February 16, 2024, and has been updated. Land loss and discrimination haven’t stopped a new generation of young Black farmers from spearheading efforts to revitalize the industry while building a more equitable and sustainable future for their communities. In the past five years, the U.S. lost 7% of all […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Justice Has Been Delayed for Black Farmers, and They’re Looking to the Next President for Answers
Bernice Atchinson, an 85-year-old advocate from Alabama, has been fighting for more than 40 years on behalf of her fellow Black farmers. She even represented them in the landmark case Pigford v. Glickman, a class-action lawsuit alleging the U.S. Department of Agriculture discriminated against Black farmers from 1983 to 1997 when they applied for federal […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Economy, Food Access
A New Road Threatens to Displace a ‘Safe Haven’ for New Orleans’ Black Youth
NEW ORLEANS — As the youth group sat in its warm-up circle, Kennedy Turner, half-jokingly, scoffed at his peers. “Why didn’t y’all react to my prom photos in the group chat?” Quickly, Cionne Chase, 19, jumped in to explain that she did, in fact, react to the photos and most definitely did not deserve to […]
Posted inBlack Farmers, Rural Issues
Her Family’s Land Was Stolen. Now, She’s Helping Black Farmers Keep Theirs.
During a four-day hearing in late November, Marvin Smith testified that he’s still fighting for his American dream: land ownership. After mostly Black residents refused to sell their property, the Sandersville Railroad Co. filed a petition with the Georgia Public Service Commission to seize the land through eminent domain. The private company wants it for […]
