Black Farmers and Black Land Loss

I have been interested for some time in the black land movement and especially encourage you to follow links and find out more about it. Black land loss is a considerable problem. As Melvin Oliver and Thomas Shapiro have recently brought to our attention in their important book, Black Wealth/White Wealth, income discrepancies have declined but wealth inequalities have worsened between Blacks and Whites. A portion of this inequality pertains to African-American owned land.

Articles

Spencer D. Wood and Cheryl Ragar. September 2012. Grass Tops Democracy: Institutional Discrimination in the Civil Rights Violations of Black Farmers. Journal of Pan African Studies, 5:6(Sept)16-36.

Gary R. Grant, Spencer D. Wood, and Willie J. Wright. 2012. Black Farmers United: The Struggle Against Powers and Principalities, Journal of Pan African Studies, 5:1(March)3-22.

Spencer D. Wood and Jess Gilbert. 2000. Returning African-American Farmers to the Land: Recent Trends and a Policy Rationale. The Review of Black Political Economy 27:4(Spring)43-64.

Jess Gilbert, Spencer D. Wood, and Gwen Sharp. 2002. Who Owns the Land? Current Agricultural Land Ownership by Race/Ethnicity. Rural Conditions and Trends 17(Winter)(4):55-62.

Maps

(from Spencer D. Wood and Jess Gilbert. 2000. Returning African-American Farmers to the Land: Recent Trends and a Policy Rationale. The Review of Black Political Economy 27:4(Spring)43-64.)

Black Operated Farms

Black Operated Land in Farms

Contact

204 Waters Hall, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Kansas State University Manhattan, KS 66506

785.532.7178

Xsdwood AT ksu DOT edu (remove the X before sending email).

Community Based Organizations

The Concerned Citizens of Tillery

The Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association

The Land Loss Fund

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF

Muhammad Farms

The Environmental Working Group

Let Justice Roll - Professor Waymon Hinson's Blog

Legal Assistance

The Land Loss Prevention Project 800.672.5839

Farmers Legal Action Group

Government Resources

USDA Office of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights

Pigford Case Office of the Monitor

Civil Rights Action Team Report, USDA - The 1997 CRAT Report of the USDA documented significant civil rights violations on the part of the Department in its treatment of both clients and employees of color. Unfortunately the report is not available in electronic form from the USDA. I have scanned it in and made it available below. Note that this report was conducted by the USDA and found numerous civil rights violations in the treatment of both clients and employees of the USDA. Check back for copies of the 1982 report from the US Commission on Civil Rights that finds similar violations.

1997 CRAT Report Part One (up to page 96)

1997 CRAT Report Part Two (97 to end - Appendices)