Black History Month: Remember, Honor, Recognize
Feb. 25, 2022
In honor and celebration of Black History Month, our committee wanted to take a few moments to remember how our agricultural landscape and system has been shaped by a history of slavery and structural racism, honor influential black agriculturalists, and recognize that these racial inequities still exist today. Just over two centuries ago, the “shipping of enslaved Africans was morally indistinguishable from shipping textiles, wheat, or even sugar” (Eltis, 2018) and these enslaved peoples were only seen as a crucial labor source for economic development in America. To this day, inequities in the agricultural space persist with White farmers owning 98% and operating 94% of all farmland in the U.S. and People of Color farmers “were more likely to be tenants rather than owners, owned less land, and generated less farm-related wealth per person than their White counterparts” (Horst and Marion, 2019).
Resources shared by the Committee:
- SlaveVoyages (digital archive of largest slave trades in history): https://www.slavevoyages.org
- Ag Daily Article- Influential Black Agriculturalists: https://www.agdaily.com/lifestyle/black-history-month-african-americans-farming
- Horst, M. and A. Marion. (2019). Racial, ethnic, and gender inequities in farmland ownership and farming in the U.S. Agriculture and Human Values, 36:1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-018-9883-3
- Dr. Treya Allen's presentation slides from Jan. 21, 2022, AREC DEI Committee's speaker series are accessible here