Image by Zora J. Murff from The Atlantic
A “Comprehensive Bill to Address the History of Discrimination in Federal Agricultural Policy”
Wow. I’ve posted before over the years about the experience of black farmers. If you don’t know, The Atlantic published a great long-piece journalism article last September. And now, this...
The Justice for Black Farmers Act will reform the U.S. Department of Agriculture and create a land grant program to encourage a new generation of Black farmers
NOVEMBER 19, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced landmark legislation aimed at addressing and correcting historic discrimination within the U.S. Department of Agriculture in federal farm assistance and lending that has caused Black farmers to lose millions of acres of farmland and robbed Black farmers and their families of hundreds of billions of dollars of inter-generational wealth.
Chuck Abbott over at Successful Farming reported that this may result in a land transfer of 32 million acres. That’s an area about the size of Alabama. Stunning!
Introduced during a lame duck session of Congress, this bill isn’t going anywhere. However, the list of endorsements is epic. And while the 3 sponsors are not from what are traditionally considered “farm states” maybe, just maybe, something may be done in the future to address this racist legacy.