[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 197 (Thursday, November 30, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5994-H5995]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HISTORY OF CIVIL RIGHTS ABUSES AT THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Duarte). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to introduce my 
first piece of legislation, the JUST Act.
  When the United States Department of Agriculture was established by 
President Lincoln in 1862, it reflected a recognition of the strategic 
importance of agriculture in the Nation's development. It aimed to 
address the needs of farmers, promote scientific advancements in 
agriculture, and contribute to rural development. However, racism 
perpetuated by the rules and the laws of Jim Crow remained strong.
  This was in the early years of the Civil War. Sixty-one years later, 
we remember in 1923 the massacre, the removal of Black, prosperous 
farmers in Rosewood, Florida, where Black farmers were taken off of 
their land.
  In the 1920s, 30 percent of America's families lived in rural America 
on farmlands. The USDA was created to provide a safety net for 
America's farmers, ranchers, and growers, which included assistance for 
struggling industries, disaster assistance, crop insurance, technical 
assistance, access to credit, and help for producers to implement 
conservation practices.
  For decades, the USDA has had an unfortunate and checkered history 
regarding civil rights, manifesting most notably in discriminatory 
lending practices, unequal program access, civil rights violations, 
land loss, and

[[Page H5995]]

limited representation. Reports dating back to the 1960s have found 
discrimination at the USDA in both program delivery and the treatment 
of its employees of African-American descent.
  Today, USDA continues to be the subject of a number of lawsuits 
brought by minority farmers and ranchers alleging discrimination. This 
reputation is so pervasive that the USDA has been called the last 
plantation on numerous occasions.
  When Secretary Tom Vilsack began his tenure as Secretary of 
Agriculture in 2009, he promised a new era of civil rights at the USDA. 
I applaud him for his recognition, honesty, candor, and willingness to 
confront a very hard truth, not fixing the blame but trying to fix the 
problem to make sure that America's agricultural access, resources, and 
industry would be open to all.
  At that time, there were over 14,000 unresolved discrimination 
complaints in the Department of Agriculture. The discrimination 
perpetuated through USDA's farm lending programs, undermining Black 
farmers' ability to continue their operations during the 20th century, 
resulting in over 900,000 Black farmers losing their lands from the 
people who were originally the custodians of this land, African 
Americans who had been kidnapped, captured, and enslaved and who made 
cotton king. When they had the opportunity to farm, the USDA had turned 
their back on these family farmers.

  Between 1920 and 1997, African-American farmers had declined by 98 
percent because of government policy. Right here, down Pennsylvania 
Avenue, in 1925, we remember when the Ku Klux Klan was a mainstream 
organization. We remember that when President Harding died in Indiana, 
there was a Klan rally at the fairgrounds commemorating his death. That 
ghost still lingered on.
  Contemporary data shows that African Americans still account for only 
1.4 percent of the country's 3.4 million producers. Equity issues 
remain in program delivery to this very day.
  An NPR analysis most recently found that, in 2022, only 36 percent of 
Black farmers received direct loans from USDA while their White 
counterparts received 72 percent loan acceptance. Perhaps some of the 
biggest gaps in the loan demographics can also be seen in the rejection 
numbers, where 16 percent of Black farmers are rejected. The highest 
corresponding figure for White farmers was 4 percent. Forty-eight 
percent of Black farmers withdrew their applications in frustration, 
and that number corresponds with Asian Americans, compared to only 24 
percent of those identifying as Caucasian.

                              {time}  1115

  While efforts are underway to address this current crisis through the 
Inflation Reduction Act, and other measures, there must be a process in 
place to clarify and bolster civil rights protections at the USDA.
  The Just USDA Standards and Transparency Act of 2023, 100 years after 
Rosewood, would correct this.

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