Black Farmers Are Reclaiming Their Land — With or Without the USDA
In 1910, Black farmers owned 14 million acres of land.Today? Less than 2 million.
Black farmers are done waiting for the USDA to make things right.
For generations, they’ve been denied loans, stripped of land, and shut out of programs meant to help them thrive.
Now, they’re taking their land — and their legacy — back.
We’re seeing a rise in Black-led farming cooperatives, land trusts, and regenerative agriculture projects across the country. But it’s not just about food.
It’s about justice. It’s about ownership. It’s about undoing a 100-year theft.
How bad is the land loss?
In 1910, Black farmers owned 14 million acres of land. Today? Less than 2 million.
That’s not just erosion. It’s extraction.
From heir property loopholes to loan discrimination, Black farmers have lost 90% of what they once held. And the USDA played a direct role.
Even with federal settlements and public apologies, most Black farmers say the damage is ongoing — and the promises feel hollow.
Meet the people fighting back
On 17 acres of former plantation land in Louisiana, Konda Mason and the team at Jubilee Justice are growing rice in ways that heal the earth and the people who tend it.
They’re not waiting for permission.
In Georgia, Shirley Sherrod and the community behind New Communities reclaimed land that was once lost — and turned it into a training ground for the next generation of Black farmers.
From Soul Fire Farm in New York to D-Town Farm in Detroit, Black farmers are reimagining food systems, land stewardship, and economic power — together.
Every acre reclaimed is a stake in the ground.
A declaration that Black futures don’t need a gatekeeper.
And they’re not just feeding themselves — they’re feeding communities, building ecosystems, and creating alternatives to extractive systems.
Read the full story: https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2025/06/10/black-farmers-are-reclaiming-their-land-whether-the-usda-stands-in-the-way-or-not/
What you can do right now
Support Black-led land trusts and food justice orgs
Donate to projects like Jubilee Justice, Soul Fire Farm, and New Communities
Push policy — especially around heir property reform and the Justice for Black Farmers Act
Tell the story — because silence keeps this cycle going
Black land loss was never just a tragedy. It was a tactic. What’s happening now is resistance — rooted in soil.