The Christian Science Monitor

Biden aid for Black farmers: The view from one Louisiana farm

Brothers Willis (left) and Adrian Nelson survey one of their family's corn fields on April 8, 2021, in Sondheimer, Louisiana. They were unable to sow this season's crop until late March due to a lag in the loan allocation process. Their corn's growth is behind other corn in the region as a result of not having the funds to plant earlier in the season.

Willis and Adrian Nelson never saw their father struggle when they were children. He wouldn’t let them. Not when their father Willie would put in 20-hour days working their land near the Mississippi Delta. Not when he’d take on an extra job farming their neighbors’ land, or when he’d pick up a bus driving shift to help make ends meet. 

Some days, Willie didn’t have enough time to make it home in time to have a good night’s rest. Instead, he’d take a nap in their truck.

The brothers are grown men now. Willis is 33 years old; Adrian, 29. For three generations on their property outside small-town Tallulah, Louisiana, the sweat from the Nelson family’s brows has salted the earth beneath them. 

The family’s small-business story began in 1960, when their grandfather invested in what would eventually grow into

Losing a farm“Should have been done a long time ago”

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