Black Farmers Have Long Faced Discrimination. New Aid Aims To Right Past Wrongs
Generations of systemic discrimination have decimated the number of Black farmers in the U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talked with NPR about new funding for debt relief.
Tucked into President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief law are provisions meant to help Black farmers, who have faced generations of systemic discrimination.
As part of the American Rescue Plan, $4 billion is going toward debt relief for "socially disadvantaged" farmers to pay off debts that have prevented their farms from growing, the Department of Agriculture said. Another $1.01 billion is being used to create a racial equity commission.
Socially disadvantaged farmers are a group that includes African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and Native Americans.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the plan is an "acknowledgement that acts of discrimination
