The U.S. Department of Agriculture has sent out long-awaited payments to marginalized farmers and others in need of aid, but some say it’s not enough to offset years of discrimination.
The USDA issued more than $2.2 billion in payments to more than 43,000 farmers across the country in the last week of July, with much of that money going to farmers in the Mississippi River delta states. That includes 1,265 farmers from Louisiana, 13,000 in Mississippi, and 11,000 in Alabama.
Charlene Johnson Gatson’s family farms beef cattle near Lexington, Miss., and applied for the program, called the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. She said they have faced decades of discrimination.
“I am excited about this money being disbursed. I’m thankful for the people who already received these settlements and I’m waiting on ours,” said Johnson Gatson, who said she has yet to receive an official letter from the USDA.
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“It would mean justice for my family,” she said.
Herman Johnson carries feed to cattle on his family farm near Lexington, Mississippi, on Nov. 9, 2023. Johnson and his family applied for funding from the government’s latest aid program for farmers who’ve faced discrimination. Photo by Imani Khayyam for the Ag & Water Desk ” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button” src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web.jpg?resize=780%2C519&ssl=1″ alt class=”wp-image-45849″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web.jpg?resize=768%2C512&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web.jpg?resize=1568%2C1045&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web.jpg?resize=400%2C267&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/www.mississippifreepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Herman-Johnson_cred-Imani-Khayyam_web-1024×682.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px” data-recalc-dims=”1″>Herman Johnson carries feed to cattle on his family farm near Lexington, Mississippi, on Nov. 9, 2023. Johnson and his family applied for funding from the government’s latest aid program for farmers who’ve faced discrimination. Photo by Imani Khayyam for the Ag & Water Desk
The payments aims to address a history of discriminatory lending practices by the USDA against Black and other margnialized farmers. A study shows that over the 20th century, Black farmers lost over $320 billion in land, partly due to that discrimination.
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said the Biden Administration hopes the money will help thousands stay
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