by USA BLACKPRESS NEWSWIRE Georgia’s Democratic Congressman David Scott has proposed legislation to protect Black farmers’ futures and end decades of institutionalized prejudice.
Written by Stacy M. BrownUSA’s Black Presswww.blackpressusa.com/
Democratic Congressman David Scott of Georgia has introduced legislation to protect Black farmers’ futures and reverse decades of systemic discrimination at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as the Trump administration attempts to remove important diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) protections.
Senior House Agriculture Committee member Scott introduced the Black Farmers and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers Increased Market Share Act of 2025 on July 17. In addition to serving on the committee, Illinois Democratic Congressman Jonathan Jackson co-sponsored the bill, which seeks to increase market access and uphold civil rights safeguards for farmers who have historically been denied fair treatment by the federal government. According to Scott, systematic discrimination and the federal government’s inaction have cost generations of Black farmers their land and means of subsistence. They currently make up less than 2% of all U.S. farmers, compared to more than 14% less than a century ago.
The number of Black farmers in the United States was close to one million in 1920. However, Jackson stated that currently there are less than 50,000 left. That represents a startling 95% decrease. He claimed that discriminatory lending practices, a lack of market access, and faulty policies were the causes of this and that it did not occur by mistake. In order to help new and growing food hubs that give Black and minority farmers access to wholesale, retail, and institutional markets, the bill creates a competitive award program. For agricultural items bought from those food centers, it provides a 25% tax credit. Additionally, it creates an independent Office of the Civil Rights Ombudsperson to support farmers with civil rights claims and mandates that USDA give preference to purchasing from socially disadvantaged farms. The bill also changes USDA regulations to give farmers who are discriminated against financial assistance through loan and payment programs.
The unveiling of the bill comes after USDA declared a broad policy shift, stating that it will no longer designate farmers who experience racial, ethnic, or gender-based discrimination as socially disadvantaged. For initiatives that benefited Asian, Native American, Black, and Hispanic growers, that designation—which was initially included in the 1990 Farm Bill—had been a vital cornerstone. The agency’s decision was made in reaction to executive orders that President Donald Trump issued earlier this year that removed all DEI-supporting regulations or initiatives, according to Capital B News. According to the USDA, it has adequately addressed its past discriminatory practices and will now follow a framework that is gender- and race-neutral.
Black farmers will be disproportionately impacted by the shift, according to former USDA official and farmer Lloyd Wright of Virginia. Wright informed Capital B that they were getting rid of socially disadvantaged people and anything else related to DEI. A portion of the outreach funds will be recouped, and the government will return the small amount of money we were receiving. The House Agriculture Committee’s vice-ranking member, Rep. Shontel Brown of Ohio, also stated that Trump’s resegregation plan included the USDA’s decision. “The socially disadvantaged label is long overdue recognition of the systemic denial of land, credit, and opportunity,” she added, calling the rule a purposeful and shameful step backward. Instead of undoing regulations that recognized that history, the administration should be trying to guarantee that Black farmers are never subjected to such prejudice again, according to Alabama Representative Shomari Figures.
Although there may have been issues with the label itself, its removal puts Black farmers at greater risk, according to Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin, founder of the Kentucky Black Farmers Association. According to her, many large-scale producers were never disadvantaged in the first place, and Black producers are frequently left to negotiate USDA programs without the same outreach provided to white farmers. White farmers and conservative legal organizations pushed USDA to take this action. Adam Faust, a farmer from Wisconsin, has filed a lawsuit against the administration, alleging that he was subjected to reverse discrimination in a number of USDA programs. Prior to this, in 2021, Faust spearheaded a successful lawsuit against the Biden administration that stopped a $4 billion loan forgiveness scheme that was intended to help farmers of color.
Black farmers are still going to court to oppose federal authorities.The USDA was recently sued by the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association for allegedly denying them access to the prejudice Financial Assistance Program, which helped more than 43,000 farmers who experienced prejudice prior to 2021. The administration’s measures, according to Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, are political theater. “This administration is focused on divisive publicity stunts that will harm our agriculture industry in the long run, rather than working to create more certainty for our nation’s farmers and adopting a stable trade agenda,” he said.
Scott’s bill is the culmination of years of agitation, during which he revealed that Black farmers received only 0.1% of a $26 billion USDA pandemic relief program. Scott stated that fairness must be incorporated into agricultural policy at this time as the Farm Bill reauthorization negotiations in Congress continue. According to Scott, Congress must rebuild confidence, open up new markets, and make sure USDA helps our Black and socially disadvantaged farmers in order to undo the decades of inaction.
