Tom Vilsack: Why debt relief for Black and minority farmers is major civil rights victory

The American Rescue Plan became law two months ago, and already we’ve seen hunger drop more than 40%. The unemployment rate has fallen by more than half thanks to the creation of more than 1.5 million new jobs.

Those $1,400 checks have allowed families to pay down debt built up over the pandemic. And federal dollars have brought safe, effective COVID-19 vaccinations to nearly 160 million Americans across the country.

For Black and minority farmers, the American Rescue Plan could represent one of the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation in decades. That’s because deep within the law is a provision that responds to decades of systemic discrimination perpetrated against farmers and ranchers of color by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The law directs USDA to pay off the farm loans of nearly 16,000 minority farmers and begin to address longstanding racial equity challenges that have plagued farmers of color for generations.

Today, after months of planning, USDA begins this historic debt relief program.

For much of the history of the USDA, Black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American and other minority farmers have faced discrimination — sometimes overt and sometimes through deeply embedded rules and policies — that have prevented them from achieving as much as their counterparts who do not face these documented acts of discrimination.

For example, in 2020, USDA distributed tens of billions of dollars to farmers due to COVID-related market losses. But those payments went primarily to white producers while socially disadvantaged producers — a legal term for Black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American and farmers of color — received just 1% of the aid. 

The reason the payments went so overwhelmingly to white producers is because the system is stacked against farmers of color. Most farm programs are based on size of an operation and its history of output.

From the late 1800s until the turn of the 21st century, Black families lost nearly 98% of their land, and the number of Black farmers fell from more than 1 million to fewer than 50,000 today. (Photo: CHARLIE RIEDEL, AP)

White farmers have advantages, including more land and larger farms which have produced more crops and livestock over a longer, documented period of time. And because those farms are larger, better capitalized, and producing most of the crops and livestock, they get most of the USDA payments when payments are distributed. As a result, socially disadvantaged farmers continue to fall further and further behind.

Black farmers lost their land

Owning land is a major advantage. Land owned by Black farmers all but disappeared in the 20th century due to federal dispossession and systemic discrimination against Black farmers. From the late 1800s until the turn of the 21st century, Black families lost nearly 98% of their land, and the number of Black farmers fell from more than 1 million to fewer than 50,000 today.

In 1990, Congress sought to address discrimination by creating programs for “socially disadvantaged producers” — a term identifying people whose members have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity.

In the 1990s, USDA also began settling civil rights cases to compensate minority farmers for specific acts of discrimination by the department against them. Yet, the settlements and programs did not change the system. The cumulative impacts of discrimination had taken hold, evidenced by the 1% example.

And then COVID hit.

On top of the economic pain caused by the pandemic, socially disadvantaged communities experienced a disproportionate share of COVID infection rates, hospitalizations, death and unemployment or underemployment. It became even harder for socially disadvantaged farmers to pay their debts, putting them further behind again.

$5 billion targeted for debt relief

The American Rescue Plan sought to address cumulative discrimination by giving USDA new tools and resources. The law provides an estimated $5 billion to deliver historic debt relief to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers who hold a qualifying farm loan.

The Rescue Plan provides also provides additional money and direction to USDA to begin a long-term effort to advance equity and remove systemic discrimination from its programs; part of this long-term effort will be led by an independent equity commission.

The loan payments will clear the debt in full as well as offer additional resources to pay tax liabilities and other fees associated with clearing a debt. Any socially disadvantaged borrower with a qualifying USDA loan is eligible for the debt relief and any assistance provided to the borrower by USDA is free of charge.

The process beginning today is truly historic. It represents an opportunity for a historically marginalized group to more fully participate in a fairer, more equitable system of American agriculture. It is long overdue.

Tom Vilsack is secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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