Agricultural communities across the country have seen a steep decline in Black farmers for generations, and nowhere is more illustrative of that than Nicodemus, where Alexander grew wheat and other crops. Nicodemus was the most famous of the Midwestern settlements where former slaves known as “exodusters” migrated more than a century ago, hopeful that farming their own land would help them escape racism and poverty.
Black farmers made up 14% of the U.S. farming population in 1910 but today account for just 1.4%.
Dowdell was only able to keep Alexander s house and the original 120-acre homestead that was not part of the bank loan. He now runs a restaurant in nearby Hill City, and the acreage he was able to keep sits idle as grassland.
Agricultural communities across the country have seen a steep decline in Black farmers for generations, and nowhere is more illustrative of that than Nicodemus, where Alexander grew wheat and other crops. Nicodemus was the most famous of the Midwestern settlements where former slaves known as “exodusters” migrated more than a century ago, hopeful that farming their own land would help them escape racism and poverty.
Black farmers made up 14% of the U.S. farming population in 1910 but today account for just 1.4%.
Dowdell was only able to keep Alexander s house and the original 120-acre homestead that was not part of the bank loan. He now runs a restaurant in nearby Hill City, and the acreage he was able to keep sits idle as grassland.
BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) After Gil Alexander s death left no active Black farmers in a historic Kansas community once home to hundreds, Alexander s nephew and his wife gave up their jobs in Arizona to try and save the family farm.
But Lateef and Carrie Dowdell encountered steep hurdles after arriving in northwestern Kansas in 2017. The bank swiftly foreclosed on the land, and the U.S. Agriculture Department told them their lack of farming experience meant the agency couldn t provide any help.
“I definitely feel it was discrimination,” Lateef Dowdell said. “All they really wanted to do really is focus on the farmers that were assisting Gil as far as sharecropping. But as far as helping me, no.”
Belle Plaine, Kan.
After Gil Alexander’s death left no active Black farmers in a historic Kansas community once home to hundreds, Mr. Alexander’s nephew and his wife gave up their jobs in Arizona to try and save the family farm.
But Lateef and Carrie Dowdell encountered steep hurdles after arriving in northwestern Kansas in 2017. The bank swiftly foreclosed on the land, and the United States Agriculture Department told them their lack of farming experience meant the agency couldn’t provide any help.
“I definitely feel it was discrimination,” Lateef Dowdell said. “All they really wanted to do really is focus on the farmers that were assisting Gil as far as sharecropping. But as far as helping me, no.”
POLITICO
Black farmers look to next Congress, Biden to dismantle ‘culture of discrimination’
Black farmers say they see a glimmer of hope after decades of pushing for measures to address systemic racism.
Some have balked at Biden’s pick for Agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, who oversaw the USDA during the Obama administration, because of his record on civil rights | AP Photo/Susan Walsh
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Black farmers are hoping for a major boost in their decadeslong struggle for racial and economic equity next year, anticipating that aggressive measures by the incoming Biden administration and Congress could expand their access to credit and address their discrimination complaints.