The First unfree Africans were brought to Virginia.
Land theft from Indigenous Americans and forced labor was the foundation of a powerful agricultural sector
U.S. Declaration of Independence and Revolutionary War
Captive Africans forced labor was foundational to the development of the powerful U.S. economy
An executive order by President Abraham Lincoln that freed those enslaved in the Confederate States in open rebellion against the Union
Despite being denied the wealth and land redistribution for freedmen that was promised in the form of '40 acres and a mule,' many Black Southerners purchased land and accumulated 19 million acres by 1910
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Jim Crow Laws: One of the forms of white backlash that emerged following Reconstruction
Jim Crow laws were designed to inhibit the financial and social advancement of Black people in the US, by upholding white supremacy in all aspects of life, including farming.
White farmers and business owners were given the right to charge additional interest rates on loans given to sharecroppers, and Black farmers
Discrimination within worker protection and social security laws.
The Wagner Act helped white workers unionize, excluded nonwhite people, blocking opportunities for Black Americans to have higher-paying jobs
Organizations like The Black Panther Party, New Communities Land Trust, Federation of Southern Cooperatives, and Freedom Farmers Cooperative emerged to counter the racial wealth gap and systemic discrimination experienced by Black people and Black Farmers.
Minority Farmers Rights Act passed to allow use of federal funds for Black farmers which, despite passing, funds were not appropriated until 1992, following a "Caravan to Washington" led by farmers and supporters across the South
Pigford vs. Glickman / Class action lawsuit filed by Timothy Pigford and 400 other Black farmers against the United States Department of Agriculture
Our work is based on a legacy of radical Black activists, changemakers, and figures in the fight for collective land ownership, wealth redistribution, and food sovereignty through economically and environmentally sustainable food systems.