President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that his administration has distributed over $2 billion in direct payments to more than 23,000 Black and minority farmers who faced discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The payments, ranging from $10,000 to $500,000, also included smaller amounts for another 20,000 aspiring farmers who did not receive USDA loans. Most of the payments went to farmers in Mississippi and Alabama, as reported by Fortune.
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack noted the department’s history of discrimination against Black farmers, stating that the recent aid is not compensation for losses or pain but an acknowledgment of past wrongs.
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The USDA has been criticized for refusing loans to Black farmers, providing smaller loans compared to white farmers, and foreclosing more quickly on Black farmers facing difficulties. John Boyd Jr., President of the National Black Farmers Association, welcomed the aid but argued that it falls short of what is needed.
“It’s like putting a bandage on somebody that needs open-heart surgery,” Boyd said. “We want our land, and I want to be very, very clear about that.”
According to him, he is still battling for 120% debt relief for Black farmers, a measure approved by Congress in 2021 as part of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package. Despite the allocation of $5 billion for the program, the funds were never disbursed.
Lawsuits filed by white farmers, who argued that their exclusion from the program violated their constitutional rights, led judges to suspend the initiative shortly after its approval.
Faced with prolonged court battles delaying aid, Congress revised the law to assist a broader range of farmers. The new legislation allocated $3.1 billion for those struggling with USDA-backed loans and $2.2 billion for farmers discriminated against by the agency.
Wardell Carter, a Black farmer, recounted that since his father bought land in Mississippi in 1939, his family never even got access to loan applications. He described USDA loan officers slamming doors in their faces and, if they persisted, calling the police on Black farmers.
Without loans, Carter’s family farmed their Mississippi land with a horse and mule for years, limiting them to 40 acres and reducing profits. When they finally secured a bank loan for a tractor, it came with a 100% interest rate.
Boyd Jr recounted his own experiences of discrimination, including loan applications being torn up, being called racial slurs, and being dismissed from meetings so officers could speak with white farmers.
“We face blatant, in-your-face, real discrimination,” Boyd Jr said. “And I did personally. The county person who was making farm loans spat tobacco juice on me during a loan session.”
At 65, Carter feels too old to farm his land. However, if he receives money through the USDA program, he plans to use it to restore the property for his nephew to farm.
Carter and his family also hope to contribute to buying his nephew a tractor.
