Black and minority farmers are set to receive a $2 billion payday from the Biden administration.
AP reports that the president announced on Wednesday (July 31) that the recipients were discriminated against by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Melanated farmers are finally getting the justice they deserve! More than 23,0000 farmers were approved for payments ranging from $10,000 to $500,000. Additionally, another 20,000 individuals who planned to start a farm but were denied a loan by the USDA will receive between $3,500 and $6,000. Most of the recipients reside in Alabama and Mississippi.
The USA has a long history of denying Black farmers from obtaining much-needed loans. Additionally, they would approve much larger amounts for their white counterparts. Furthermore, they foreclosed more quickly than usual when Black farmers who obtained loans ran into problems. USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack stated the payment “is not compensation for anyone’s loss or the pain endured, but it is an acknowledgment by the department.”
Farmers Share Their Stories of Discrimination
The National Black Farmers Associate Founder and President John Boyd Jr. added that it doesn’t fix the massive wound created. He said, “It’s like putting a bandage on somebody that needs open-heart surgery. We want our land, and I want to be very, very clear about that.”
Boyd has said he’s been called racial slurs and seen his loan applications torn up and thrown in the trash. Additionally, he said he was told to leave loan meetings so the officer could speak to white farmers.
He said, “We face blatant, in-your-face, real discrimination.” He revealed that once, “The county person who was making farm loans spat tobacco juice on me during a loan session.”
Wardell Carter said no one in his family could get approved for a loan after they bought 85 acres of Mississippi land in 1939. He said USDA officers slammed the door in his face. Carter said if Black farmers persisted, loan officers would send the police to their homes.
In 2021, debt relief was approved for Black farmers. However, White farmers in several states filed lawsuits arguing their exclusion violated their constitutional rights. Judges stopped the program, and Congress amended the law. Support was then offered to a broader range of farmers. A new law allotted $3.1 billion to help farmers struggling with USDA-backed loans and $2.2 billion to pay farmers who the agency discriminated against.
Carter says he is too old to farm land at 65. However, if he receives funds, he plans to get his property in shape to assist his nephew in his farming endeavors. Hopefully, with the payments, families can cultivate the future for their heirs that they were denied to create for themselves.
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Associated Press reporter Summer Ballentine contributed to this report.
