The pandemic has brought to light many issues and created even more. One of these issues is the racism surrounding Black farmers. Large plots of land owned for generations by Black families have shrunk in size over the past century. Going from being 14% of American farmers to only 1 in every 100. Most farmers do not make enough to sustain and expand their farms without taking out loans, but powerful organizations made to provide these loans like the USDA have been refusing to lend to minority farmers.
Specifically, they have been refusing to give money to Black farmers, on account of deep-seated racism within the organization. This contributes greatly to the reason many Black farms have been evicted off of their property, and why the percentage of Black farmers has decreased so significantly. In the 1990’s the federal government promised a relief package to these minority farmers that never reached their hands because loan officers at the USDA refused to give it to them. More recently, when relief packages for the pandemic started rolling out, the United States government promised a large debt relief package for these farmers. And from the very beginning, White farmers have stood against this claiming that it discriminates against them.
Some of these White farmers have filed lawsuits against the government claiming that providing relief based on race is illegal. These lawsuits have led to certain states putting holds on the money provided by the government. In turn made the situation increasingly worse for Black farmers, especially those already in debt who were counting on the money to help them continue working. The banks were also against the idea that all of the loans they had given were going to be paid off earlier, cutting them out of interest payments. In the end, the attempt to help minority farmers stay afloat and keep their land has been at a continued stalemate for about a year now, and the only movement seems to be those getting evicted.
CIMA Law Group Blog 