The Historical Oppression of Black Farmers
- No Footprint Left Behind
- Jun 15, 2020
- 7 min read
Over the past couple of weeks, we have faced a long-overdue awakening in which many social injustices have been brought to light with regard to the racism that still persists in our country. It has become very clear to many people that racism is not just hating a person because of the color of one's skin, but rather a much bigger problem...one that has been termed as "systemic racism". Systemic racism explains many of the challenges and injustices that Black people are faced with from the very moment of their first breath. It explains that the United States of America is designed to set one race up for success, and another up for failure. It explains why Black babies are 2.5 times more likely to die before they reach the age of 3, as well as why White and Black Americans are equally likely to use marijuana, but Black Americans are 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for it.
What would you call it if lifetimes of legal segregation followed by decades of pervasive racist housing policies still, to this day, disadvantage Black people in almost every aspect of life, because where you live can decide everything from how safe you are, to what food you eat, to the quality of your health care to the quality of your job, to the quality of your children's education? - Rinku Sen President of Race Forward
In this post, we will be focusing on how a long history of oppression has affected the ability of Black people to have access to land, farming experiences, and nourishing food, even still today. Much of this information has been gathered from "The Decline & Resurgence of Black Farmers" an episode of Strange Fruit podcast. The full episode can be accessed here, as well as on both the Apple Podcast and Spotify app.
In the episode, hosts Jaison Gardner and Kalia Story interview Black farmer and author of "Farming While Black", Leah Penniman. Leah is also the founder of Soul Fire Farm, a BIPOC-centered community farm that aims to uproot injustice within the food system and reconnect people to land and farming.
Photo: Leah Penniman (far left) and other female Black farmers who are doing similar work within farming & activism.
How is Black farming connected to social change?
During the Civil Rights Movement, Malcom X was known for teaching that land is a basis for revolution. Land is the basis for freedom, justice, and equality, for it is land on which a nation is built. Without access to land, Black people could only get so far, which is something that White people continuously used (and still use) to their advantage. In the 1960's, Black farmers were primarily sharecropping, which essentially means that they did not own any land themselves, but rather grew crops on the land of white farmers in exchange for a place to live. Therefore, if Black people were to participate in civil rights activism by registering to vote for example, or joining the NAACP, they would risk being kicked off the land, which also meant losing their homes. Gaining access to their own land was essential for the freedom of Black farmers and their families. Groups such as Freedom Farm Cooperative, started by Fannie Lou Hamer in 1967, were founded to help address this challenge.
Only 1% of farmers today are Black. Why is that?
Ok, time to re-write history a little bit. Does anyone else remember learning in secondary education history classes that slaves were given reparations after they were freed? Yeah...us too. But it actually wasn't as sunshine and rainbows as our education system would like us to think. After the emancipation of slaves, the idea of "40 acres and a mule" came about, which was a post-Civil War promise made in 1865 by Union General William Sherman that would allot family units, including freed people, up to 40 acres of land and a mule. Unfortunately, this idea was never actually manifested. After President Lincoln was assassinated, President Andrew Johnson reversed the order and any land that had been previously granted to Black families was taken back.
As time went on, it remained difficult for Black people to purchase and own land. Many people began saving up their "Sunday money" from the odd jobs they worked. By 1910, about 16 million acres of land were owned by Black farmers. Today, almost all of that land is gone. Why? Well, because systemic racism continued to rear its ugly head. The USDA continued to decline loans and support for Black farmers, the KKK physically burned and destroyed their land, and loopholes in tax and housing laws increased the rates of foreclosures among Black-owned properties.
In 1999, the largest civil rights settlement in the history of our country was made in the case of Pigford v Glickman. It was a class-action lawsuit that resulted in a $2 billion payout. While this might sound like a lot of money, if you consider how many Black farmers had been displaced from their land, $2 billion starts to sound more like a penny. For each displaced Black farmer to gain back their land, they each would have needed $50,000. So, this case ended up being more of a symbolic moment in history than it was a reparation, as it set the precedent for anti-discrimination laws.
What else did history fail to teach us?
Many farming practices that we advocate for on this blog, and will be expanding upon over the summer months, were invented by Black farmers. Agricultural history was so much more than the revolutionary inventions of White people that we tend to learn in school. Ex: Eli Whitney & the cotton gin, John Deere & the plow, the list goes on and on. Many sustainable farming practices that have the potential to save our earth are rooted in African wisdom. Here are some farming practices started by Black farmers that have played a huge role in the sustainable farming movement today.
-Community-supported agriculture (CSA) was first started by Booker T Whatley. It was originally called "pick your own" farming, and people could come to the farm and select their own produce. It has developed today into a way for people to support local farms and sign up for subscription services to receive fresh produce on a monthly basis (ex: a produce box).
-The concept of organic farming which used techniques like cover cropping, raised beds, and vermiculture composting as alternatives to agrochemicals.
-Food cooperatives (co-op) are grocery stores that are owned by the people who shop there as opposed to a private owner. They're primarily stocked with food grown by local farmers.
Regenerative farming practices rooted in African-Indigenous wisdom and technologies are part of the solution to feeding the world without undermining its ecology, and have been ignored, erased, or appropriated by mainstream society. - Soul Fire Farm
How Do Black People Begin to Reconnect with the Land that they so Adamantly Deserve?
Soul Fire Farm has very specific and strategic goals that strive to accomplish this very task. Leah and her team believe that farming can be used as a method of healing from a history of oppression that has disconnected the Black community from the land. "Nature deficit disorder" can occur in people who live in highly urbanized environments and results in other complications such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, poor eyesight, and thus, lower achievement in school. The program encourages people to start small with something as simple as one tomato plant, which can even be grown indoors, planting a small fruit or nut tree in your yard, or joining a community garden and purchasing a small plot. You can find a community garden near you at this link.
The Modern-Day Black Farmer
According to Leah Penniman, many Black farmers today are well aware of the history of their ancestors' land and honor it with what they choose to grow. As far back as the 1700's, Black women would literally braid precious seeds into their hair in hopes of being able to use them post-slavery. These were commonly seeds of okra, cowpea, sorghum, and millet, which depending on the climate in which their farms reside, many Black farmers still grow today. Chicken is also commonly raised on Black farms because chickens used to be the only animal that black people were allowed to own, so there are decades of expertise in raising chickens to be passed on through generations.
Ways to Support Black Farmers Now
One of the most direct ways in which you can support Black farmers is to purchase food from one. Join a Black-owned CSA.
Find a Black farmer in your area and become familiar with what food they grow and the methods in which they choose to grow. A great way to locate a Black farmer in your area is to go to your local Farmer's Market.
Attend a conference to learn more about the movement and how to become an advocate for Black farmers. Many of the organizations listed below host conferences each year that are open to the public for registration.
Sign petitions that are drafted to regain land that was stolen from Black Farmers by government officials working under the USDA. One example is linked here with more information about the case of farmer Eddie Wise.
Organizations to start supporting now through donations & volunteering:
Articles to read for further education on the topic:
Podcast episodes to listen to:
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