Timeline: Black Farmers and the USDA, 1920 to Present

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a long history of discrimination against Black farmers.

1920

USDA records 925,708 Black farm operators – 14 percent of all U.S. farmers.

1933

New Deal legislation to address low crop prices by reducing acres of farmland displaces many Black farmers.

1964

Share of Black farm operators falls to 5.8 percent.

1965

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights finds USDA discriminated against Black farmers when providing loans and conservation payments.

1982

Share of Black farm operators falls to 2 percent.

1982

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights documents discrimination that led to the decline of Black farmers.

1983

Reagan administration dismantles USDA Office of Civil Rights.

1990

House Committee on Government Operations report finds rampant discrimination in USDA loan programs.

1993

Report by Westover Consultants finds USDA not held accountable for civil rights violations.

1995

U.S. General Accounting Office report finds USDA fails to address racial discrimination.

1996

Consultant D.J. Miller report finds Black farmers do not get fair share of subsidies, disaster payments or loans.

1996

National Black Farmers Association holds a demonstration outside the White House.

1997

Share of Black farm operators falls to 0.9 percent.

1997

USDA’s Inspector General documents a “climate of disorder” among civil rights staff.

1997

GAO report on Farm Service Agency cites lack of diversity.

1997

Congressional Black Caucus holds first-ever forum on discrimination against Black farmers.

1997

Black farmers file historic discrimination complaint against USDA.

1997

USDA publishes Civil Rights Action Team Report detailing a long history of racial bias and discrimination by the agency.

1998

USDA report cites the role of the agency’s discrimination in the decline of Black farmers.

1999

John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmer Association, brings his mule, Struggle, to Washington, D.C., to protest USDA treatment of Black farmers.

1999

Settlement in Pigford vs. USDA reached to pay Black farmers $1.03 billion. More than 22,000 Black farmers seek claims, but only 15,645 receive modest payments. More than 61,000 Black farmers file late claims, but only 2,585 are accepted.

2000

Senate Agriculture Committee holds hearing on discrimination against Black farmers.

2001

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights finds Black farmers wait four times longer than white farmers for farm loans.

2001

More than 14,000 USDA discrimination complaints are filed between 2001 and 2008, but USDA finds only one has merit.

2002

Black farmers rally outside USDA.

2002

Share of Black farm operators rises to 1.3 percent.

2002

Black farmers receive $21.2 million in farm subsidies; white farmers receive $8.9 billion.

2004

EWG and National Black Farmers Association issue report on USDA obstruction of Black farmer settlement.

2007

Share of Black farm operators remains at 1.3 percent.

2007

Black farmers receive $38 million in farm subsidies; white farmers receive $10.6 billion.

2007

EWG and National Black Farmers Association issue report on subsidy gap between Black and white farmers.

2008

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform holds hearing on discrimination by USDA.

2008

Congress allows Black farmers originally denied payments from Pigford settlement to reopen their claims.

2009

USDA reopens discrimination cases and finds 3,800 of 14,000 have merit but that the statute of limitations has expired. Only 760 cases are addressed.

2010

Boyd drives a tractor around Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers to call for funding for USDA discrimination cases.

2010

South Carolina court rules against USDA in favor of Black farmers who faced discrimination.

2010

USDA Office of Civil Rights seeks extension of statutes of limitation for discrimination complaints but fails to persuade Congress.

2010

Congress secures another $1.25 billion in payments for Black farmers previously denied payments.

2011

The Pigford case’s Monitor report highlights USDA’s failure to provide debt relief for Black farmers.

2012

USDA reports that the share of Black farm operators rose to 1.7 percent.

2012

Black farmers receive $64 million in farm subsidies; white farmers receive $8.1 billion.

2014

USDA reports a 9 percent increase in the number of Black farm operators.

2016

Share of USDA lending to Black farmers falls to 0.8 percent.

2017

USDA reports that the share of Black farm operators remains at 1.7 percent.

2017

Black farmers receive $59.4 million in farm subsidies; white farmers receive $9.7 billion.

2019

Legal experts find USDA has overstated the number of Black farmers.

2020

Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduce Justice for Black Farmers Act.

Previous
Previous

National Black Farmers Association: Vilsack Must End "Culture of Discrimination" at USDA

Next
Next

National Black Farmers Association Congratulates Biden's Agriculture Secretary Nominee Tom Vilsack, Calls for Him to End "Culture of Discrimination" at USDA