Senate Dems Unveil 'Justice for Black Farmers Act'

A group of Senate Democrats have released a pair of bills “to forgive debt and restore the land that has been lost in order to empower a new generation of Black farmers to succeed and thrive,” according to New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. 

Among other provisions, the Justice for Black Farmers Act would provide $4 billion in direct payments to farmers of color, would create programs and initiatives available to Americans over the age of 21 who identify as Black/African-American and have at least one parent of African descent, and would set aside $1 billion to “end discrimination” in the Department of Agriculture.

“Overtly discriminatory and unjust federal policy has robbed Black families in the United States of the ability to build and pass on intergenerational wealth. When it comes to farming and agriculture, we know that there is a direct connection between discriminatory policies within the USDA and the enormous land loss we have seen among Black farmers over the past century,” Booker, who originally introduced this legislation in 2020, said in a statement.

"The Justice for Black Farmers Act will address and correct USDA discrimination and take bold steps to forgive debt and restore the land that has been lost in order to empower a new generation of Black farmers to succeed and thrive."

In a section titled "End Discrimination within USDA," the statement reads: "The Act creates an independent civil rights oversight board to conduct reviews of any appeals of civil rights complaints filed against USDA, to investigate reports of discrimination within USDA, and to provide oversight of Farm Service Agency County Committees. In addition, the Act creates an Equity Commission whose responsibilities include developing recommendations to reform FSA County Committees. The Act also puts reforms in place within the USDA Office of Civil Rights, including placing a moratorium on foreclosures during the pendency of civil rights complaints."

The Equitable Land Access Service is intended to help return land to Black farmers that was seized by the government in the past, as well as make land available to African-Americans who wish to become farmers. The bill would also establish a new federal bank to help farmers of color gain access to credit.

USDA data shows that while there were more than 900,000 Black farmers in the U.S. in 1920, about 14% of the farmers in the country at that time, the 2017 Census of Agriculture found that only 35,000 farms in the U.S. had Black/African-American producers, out of more than 2 million.

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