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.
