Member-only story
Black Farmers Won a $1.25 Billion Settlement, but Racism Ensured That Wasn’t Enough
We check in with the lawyer — Greg Francis — who won the 2010 settlement
In 1920, there were nearly one million Black farmers in the United States representing 14% of all farmers in America. By 1997, there were barely more than 18,000, less than 1%. During that time, Black farmers accused the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) of race-based discrimination in the form of denying or delaying loans essential to all growers looking to maintain their farms and harvest each year.
While the number of Black farmers has more than doubled since 1997, Black people are still suffering from a century of disenfranchisement that has caused them to lose billions in profits.
“Once they lost the farm, they moved to the big cities and did something else. There was also the generational wealth that was lost. Them losing the farm means there’s not as much to pass on to the children of these farmers, much less pass on the legacy and knowledge of farming,” says Greg Francis, the Florida-based attorney for Osborne & Francis who helped the Black farmers reach a $1.25 billion settlement with the USDA in 2010.
The Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation Settlement resulted in 33,000 Black farmers or their heirs receiving $50,000 each. They had accused the USDA of systemic discrimination in the form of denying them the loans and cash needed for production due solely to their race between 1981–1996. Just ahead of Juneteenth, the Just Harvest author spoke with Momentum about the discriminatory USDA practices, the legacy of Juneteenth, and how Black farmers continued to be ignored even after his historic victory.
Momentum: A Black farmer you interviewed said that the USDA told them a loan payment was “too big to give to a nigger.” Can you share other anecdotes?
Francis: The farmers’ stories wouldn’t always be as blatant as that. These extension offices are spread out in different counties from time to time. Many times, the farmers would go to the closest extension office in their country or neighboring county in order to get this relief and simply be sent to another extension office to reapply and were told they were out of money…
