1 00:00:01,933 --> 00:00:04,500 AMNA NAWAZ: The number of self-identified Black farmers in the United States has dwindled 2 00:00:04,500 --> 00:00:09,500 over the last century, in part because of discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 3 00:00:11,966 --> 00:00:15,133 The agency is the economic backbone for most American farmers through its financing, insurance 4 00:00:16,266 --> 00:00:18,800 and research and education programs. 5 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:23,133 Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from Oklahoma, where, despite roadblocks to 6 00:00:25,066 --> 00:00:28,700 federal aid, there's a concerted push to help Black and other underserved farmers survive. 7 00:00:30,666 --> 00:00:33,966 LEROY BRINKLEY, Rancher: I knew I was going to do this since I was 7 years old. 8 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,766 First time I pretty much got on a tractor with my uncle, and I knew I love agriculture. 9 00:00:40,966 --> 00:00:42,500 Wouldn't give it for nothing in the world. 10 00:00:42,500 --> 00:00:44,833 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Did you know how tough it was going to be? 11 00:00:44,833 --> 00:00:45,833 LEROY BRINKLEY: No. 12 00:00:45,833 --> 00:00:47,900 I do now. 13 00:00:47,900 --> 00:00:51,800 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: For 50 year old Leroy Brinkley, self-described hermit, this 80-acre 14 00:00:53,833 --> 00:00:57,233 farm with nearly three dozen beef cows is his comfort zone, a labor-intensive full-time 15 00:01:00,466 --> 00:01:05,433 job, but it is one he has to finance by working at least as long off the farm as a heavy equipment 16 00:01:06,733 --> 00:01:08,866 mechanic and truck driver. 17 00:01:08,866 --> 00:01:12,666 Why isn't farming by itself a full-time occupation? 18 00:01:12,666 --> 00:01:14,666 Because the work certainly is full-time, right? 19 00:01:14,666 --> 00:01:17,800 LEROY BRINKLEY: Yes, the work is there, but the money is not. 20 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,900 Economically, I don't see this working just by itself. 21 00:01:20,900 --> 00:01:25,766 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: When he began farming three decades ago, Leroy Brinkley tried to 22 00:01:25,766 --> 00:01:29,333 get a loan from the USDA. 23 00:01:29,333 --> 00:01:33,700 But at the local office, he says he was turned down and turned off by the experience. 24 00:01:33,700 --> 00:01:38,266 LEROY BRINKLEY: I brought the papers, and it was just no support. 25 00:01:38,266 --> 00:01:41,200 I could tell from the get-go I wasn't going to get help. 26 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:43,733 I tried it anyway, trying to be nice, polite. 27 00:01:43,733 --> 00:01:47,066 I still didn't get the support that I needed from it. 28 00:01:47,066 --> 00:01:49,066 So, I couldn't bother with it anymore. 29 00:01:49,066 --> 00:01:52,833 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: An experience all too familiar to Black and minority farmers. 30 00:01:52,833 --> 00:01:55,333 JOHN BOYD JR., President, National Black Farmers Association: We have clearly been dumped on 31 00:01:55,333 --> 00:01:59,600 worse than any other race in this country by our own federal government. 32 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:04,366 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: John Boyd Jr. is president of the National Black Farmers Association 33 00:02:04,366 --> 00:02:07,200 and a fourth-generation Virginia farmer. 34 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:12,200 He says African Americans have been systematically excluded from programs that enable farmers 35 00:02:14,166 --> 00:02:16,966 to acquire land and build wealth, and unfairly targeted for foreclosure. 36 00:02:16,966 --> 00:02:21,800 JOHN BOYD JR.: The government has to start living up to its commitment, and they have 37 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:25,366 to start treating Black farmers with dignity and respect. 38 00:02:25,366 --> 00:02:30,266 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: The government has settled two class action lawsuits in the past 25 years. 39 00:02:30,266 --> 00:02:33,300 TOM VILSACK, U.S. Agriculture Secretary: Socially disadvantaged producers were discriminated 40 00:02:33,300 --> 00:02:35,600 against by the United States Department of Agriculture. 41 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,633 We know this. 42 00:02:37,633 --> 00:02:41,000 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: And, in 2021, the Biden administration included billions in debt relief 43 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:45,033 for minority farmers in its American Rescue Plan. 44 00:02:45,033 --> 00:02:50,033 But lawsuits from white farmers, claiming reverse discrimination, held up the program. 45 00:02:52,500 --> 00:02:55,466 In response, Congress repealed it last August, instead setting aside money in the administration's 46 00:02:56,966 --> 00:02:59,966 Inflation Reduction Act now for so-called distressed borrowers. 47 00:02:59,966 --> 00:03:02,633 WILLARD TILLMAN, Executive Director, Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project: There a 48 00:03:02,633 --> 00:03:06,066 lot of opportunities there under this administration that a lot of people are not taking advantage 49 00:03:06,666 --> 00:03:09,100 of. 50 00:03:09,100 --> 00:03:10,933 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Willard Tillman;s organization is a resource that connects minority farmers 51 00:03:10,933 --> 00:03:13,766 to complex government farm programs. 52 00:03:13,766 --> 00:03:18,266 He says there's a rare opportunity to bring these farmers into the system from which they 53 00:03:18,266 --> 00:03:20,333 felt alienated. 54 00:03:20,333 --> 00:03:23,900 WILLARD TILLMAN: If they don't understand it, they're ain't going to mess with it. 55 00:03:23,900 --> 00:03:25,466 So that is where we come in. 56 00:03:25,466 --> 00:03:26,566 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: They don't trust the government. 57 00:03:26,566 --> 00:03:28,200 WILLARD TILLMAN: They trust me. 58 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,233 I don't take dirty water to them. 59 00:03:30,233 --> 00:03:32,200 If it is good for them, I tell them yes. 60 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:34,033 If it's not good for them, I tell them no. 61 00:03:34,033 --> 00:03:36,133 LEROY BRINKLEY: Survive with these cows. 62 00:03:36,133 --> 00:03:38,766 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: With the help of Tillman's group, Leroy Brinkley enrolled in a program 63 00:03:38,766 --> 00:03:43,266 last year called CARE, Conservation and Agriculture Reach Everyone. 64 00:03:43,266 --> 00:03:45,700 LEROY BRINKLEY: Those blackbirds, you see how they started? 65 00:03:45,700 --> 00:03:50,700 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: It paid him $70 an acre for 40 acres, which he used to partner with 66 00:03:52,700 --> 00:03:55,700 a local elementary student to bring goats to graze on the invasive species. 67 00:03:55,700 --> 00:03:59,333 LEROY BRINKLEY: Want to try to get this covered with a cover crop. 68 00:03:59,333 --> 00:04:03,766 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: This year he has participating again, getting support to plant more grass 69 00:04:03,766 --> 00:04:05,300 for his herd to graze on. 70 00:04:05,300 --> 00:04:07,700 LEROY BRINKLEY: Fifteen hundred dollars in seed ought to get it. 71 00:04:07,700 --> 00:04:10,466 SARAH BLANEY, Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts: Yes, well, time, yes, for your 72 00:04:10,466 --> 00:04:11,466 time. 73 00:04:11,466 --> 00:04:13,466 LEROY BRINKLEY: Yes. 74 00:04:13,466 --> 00:04:16,533 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Sarah Blaney runs the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, 75 00:04:16,533 --> 00:04:19,400 which administers the admittedly modest CARE program. 76 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:24,400 SARAH BLANEY: Our specific program is smaller, but our hope is that this is maybe the first 77 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,233 introduction to that process and makes them a little bit more comfortable with the idea 78 00:04:32,300 --> 00:04:35,900 of working with government, so that, when they're ready to go apply for those bigger 79 00:04:35,900 --> 00:04:38,566 contracts, they know the right questions to ask. 80 00:04:38,566 --> 00:04:41,100 They know what their rights are. 81 00:04:41,100 --> 00:04:44,166 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: A more immediate challenge for Brinkley is the months-long drought across 82 00:04:44,166 --> 00:04:47,933 Oklahoma, which has almost tripled hay prices this year. 83 00:04:47,933 --> 00:04:52,500 So it costs you about 700 bucks per week to feed this group? 84 00:04:52,500 --> 00:04:53,633 LEROY BRINKLEY: Yes. 85 00:04:53,633 --> 00:04:55,966 This is very expensive this year. 86 00:04:55,966 --> 00:05:00,833 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Some of his expenses have been offset by a $50,000 loan he received 87 00:05:00,833 --> 00:05:05,833 through the Native Creek Nation, where he is an enrolled member, money that was guaranteed 88 00:05:06,433 --> 00:05:07,666 by the USDA. 89 00:05:07,666 --> 00:05:10,000 LEROY BRINKLEY: It did not grow me any. 90 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,533 It just kind of took the curves off some things. 91 00:05:13,533 --> 00:05:17,800 Maybe the next time, the next go-around, when this operation is up fully and running, it 92 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:20,300 may make a difference. 93 00:05:20,300 --> 00:05:23,800 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: The Black Farmers Association's Boyd applauds efforts like those in Oklahoma, 94 00:05:26,300 --> 00:05:29,666 but he says the money now available is a fraction of what would have come to minority farmers 95 00:05:31,066 --> 00:05:33,000 under the debt relief program that was repealed. 96 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:37,433 JOHN BOYD JR.: We were promised 120 percent debt relief, and we didn't get it. 97 00:05:39,366 --> 00:05:44,066 It looks like to me, every time Black farmers are promised something in this country, we 98 00:05:44,666 --> 00:05:47,133 don't get it. 99 00:05:47,133 --> 00:05:50,500 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: The USDA declined an interview request, but, in a statement to "PBS NewsHour," 100 00:05:50,500 --> 00:05:55,500 said, given court injunctions that tied its hands, the goal was to get relief to farmers 101 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:01,100 quickly, adding that: "The Inflation Reduction Act provided $3.1 billion that will allow 102 00:06:03,466 --> 00:06:08,133 USDA to work with distressed borrowers, and for those farmers that have suffered discrimination 103 00:06:09,933 --> 00:06:14,300 by the USDA farm loan programs, Congress allocated to $2.2 billion." 104 00:06:16,266 --> 00:06:20,766 But Boyd says the government broke a promise and a contract with minority farmers, and 105 00:06:21,500 --> 00:06:23,466 he is suing the USDA. 106 00:06:23,466 --> 00:06:27,100 JOHN BOYD JR.: When they changed the language to distressed, it opened it up, and white 107 00:06:27,100 --> 00:06:30,900 farmers were able to get their loans and stuff current. 108 00:06:30,900 --> 00:06:35,900 There are far more white farmers than there are Black farmers in this country. 109 00:06:35,900 --> 00:06:37,800 We are less than 1 percent. 110 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:39,800 We are facing extinction. 111 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:43,933 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Back in the early 1900s, Black Americans owned some 16 million acres 112 00:06:45,866 --> 00:06:49,766 of farmland, a number that was down by 90 percent by the turn of the 21st century. 113 00:06:51,700 --> 00:06:55,900 Here in Oklahoma, there once were more than 50 all-Black towns built around agriculture. 114 00:06:57,066 --> 00:07:00,100 Clearview is one of just 13 that survive today. 115 00:07:00,100 --> 00:07:04,933 SHIRLEY NERO, Resident of Clearview, Oklahoma: My family moved here in 1902, when the town 116 00:07:04,933 --> 00:07:05,933 was established. 117 00:07:05,933 --> 00:07:09,266 My dad had a 40-acre farm. 118 00:07:09,266 --> 00:07:11,666 This is where I will stay until I pass away. 119 00:07:11,666 --> 00:07:16,666 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Shirley Nero and her husband, Donnie, both had careers as educators, Donnie 120 00:07:18,066 --> 00:07:20,466 eventually becoming president of Connors State College. 121 00:07:20,466 --> 00:07:25,466 But they were both pulled to return to this tiny town 80 miles east of Oklahoma City, 122 00:07:26,366 --> 00:07:28,333 population about 50. 123 00:07:28,333 --> 00:07:31,633 SHIRLEY NERO: Most of those people that settled here were freed men. 124 00:07:31,633 --> 00:07:36,633 When Oklahoma became a state in 1907, the first bill they passed was the Jim Crow law. 125 00:07:37,500 --> 00:07:38,900 And this was a place of freedom. 126 00:07:38,900 --> 00:07:40,466 They could express themselves. 127 00:07:40,466 --> 00:07:42,500 They could actually support themselves. 128 00:07:42,500 --> 00:07:47,500 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: As the years went on, the population and Black-owned land eventually 129 00:07:48,233 --> 00:07:50,266 began to dwindle. 130 00:07:50,266 --> 00:07:53,500 SHIRLEY NERO: Our school got down to 32 in the high school, and then that is when they 131 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:56,433 closed it, in '64. 132 00:07:56,433 --> 00:08:00,466 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: The Neros built their house and now breed cattle here, a rare reverse 133 00:08:02,033 --> 00:08:04,133 migration, they admit. 134 00:08:04,133 --> 00:08:08,033 DONNIE NERO, Rancher: We see so many of the young people today, their parents or grandparents 135 00:08:09,500 --> 00:08:12,400 have had land for so many years, but that almighty dollar speaks. 136 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:17,133 And, when it does, they are going to move, and the farms are going to be lost. 137 00:08:17,133 --> 00:08:22,133 And when you lose the land that you have, and you now find yourself in a condominium 138 00:08:25,333 --> 00:08:29,800 somewhere, the value does not -- doesn't equate. 139 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:34,800 FRED DE SAM LAZARO: For his part, Leroy Brinkley is open to participating in more farm programs, 140 00:08:36,766 --> 00:08:40,000 but, based on experience, says he is not counting on anyone but himself. 141 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,700 LEROY BRINKLEY: I have got a little piece of a home. 142 00:08:43,700 --> 00:08:45,366 I'm satisfied. 143 00:08:45,366 --> 00:08:48,233 Had to move some hurdles out of the way, but I am making a go of it. 144 00:08:48,233 --> 00:08:52,766 For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Fred de Sam Lazaro in Haskell, Oklahoma. 145 00:08:52,766 --> 00:08:57,766 AMNA NAWAZ: And Fred's reporting is a partnership with the Under-Told Stories Project at the 146 00:08:58,933 --> 00:09:01,433 University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. 147 00:09:01,433 --> 00:09:05,666 And there is more online, including a look at the lives of Black farmers through a photographer's lens. 148 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,866 You can see those images at PBS.org/NewsHour.