Ohio’s population of Black farmers dwindled from around 2,000 in the 1900s to about 344 in the state today. Nationally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reported that since 1920, when there were nearly 1 million Black farmers in America, the number of Black farmers had declined by about 95%. A class-action lawsuit filed against the USDA in 1997 made clear some of the discriminatory systems, practices and outright racism that contributed to that decline. It would become one of the largest civil rights settlements in U.S. history.
Out of this legacy have arisen local, community-driven efforts to support established and emerging Black farmers. Among the BIPOC Food and Farming Network in Ohio, there are farmers in both rural and urban areas, people with small gardens, herbalists and folks interested in food sovereignty. Some are interested in regenerative growing practices—an approach to agriculture that focuses on rehabilitating the soil. Some are building businesses. Several have been drawn to farming as a way to counteract “food deserts”—places where communities lack access to nutritious food such as fresh fruits and vegetables typically found in grocery stores. https://spiderock.000webho...