The Land, the Legacy and the Fight. Black Farmers Association in America

The story of Black farmers in America cannot begin in 2026. To understand why the concerns raised by National Black Farmers Association President John Boyd Jr. deserve our attention, we have to understand the history that brought us here.

For generations, Black people provided labor that helped build America’s economic foundation.

During the brutal institution of slavery, enslaved Africans and their descendants worked agricultural land and produced valuable commodities—including cotton, tobacco, rice and sugar—that generated enormous wealth while the people performing much of that labor were denied wages, freedom and ownership of the wealth they helped create.

After emancipation, Black Americans didn’t simply ask to participate in America—they fought to build something of their own.

Black men served in the Civil War. Families came out of slavery determined to acquire land, establish farms, educate their children and create economic independence.

Despite violence, discriminatory laws and barriers to financing and land ownership, Black farmers eventually accumulated millions of acres of farmland.

But holding onto it became another battle.

Over generations, Black farmers have confronted land loss, discriminatory lending practices, unequal treatment within agricultural programs and other obstacles that contributed to a dramatic decline in Black-owned farmland.

Yet they continued farming. They continued organizing. And they continued demanding the same opportunity to succeed as everyone else.

That struggle brings us to 2026.

Brother Boyd Says the Door Was Closed

John Boyd Jr., a fourth-generation Virginia farmer and longtime advocate for Black farmers, says he sought to participate in a White House meeting concerning American farmers but was not included.

Brother Boyd says he was also told that the administration was moving away from issues involving Black farmers, diversity initiatives and small farming operations while placing greater attention on larger agricultural interests.

That reported private conversation should remain properly attributed to Brother Boyd unless independently confirmed. But the larger issue he raises deserves examination.

After generations of Black farmers fighting simply to receive fair treatment, how can their voices not be part of a national conversation about the future of American agriculture?

This shouldn’t automatically become another Democrat-versus-Republican argument. Black farmers have had to bring their concerns before administrations from both political parties.

Their struggle didn’t begin with one president, and it won’t be solved simply by electing another one.

This is about something deeper.

From a Seat at Their Table to Building Our Own

There is another conversation our community should have when stories like this surface.

For generations, we have fought for access to institutions that once excluded us—and that fight for equal treatment must continue.

But alongside that fight must come an equally serious conversation about building, owning and supporting institutions within our own communities.

What happens when we intentionally support Black farmers?

What happens when our restaurants purchase from them? When our community organizations establish relationships with them? When our families look for opportunities to buy their products?

When Black businesses do business with other Black businesses while also building partnerships throughout the larger economy?

Money becomes more powerful when it supports productive institutions—farms, businesses, housing, education and employment—and creates opportunities that can circulate through a community rather than immediately leaving it.

Economic cooperation doesn’t mean isolating ourselves from anyone else. It means recognizing that a community that produces, owns and supports some of its own institutions has greater ability to determine its future.

We should continue demanding fairness from government because Black farmers are American citizens and taxpayers entitled to equal treatment.

But we should also ask ourselves:

What are we building together?

The Land Means More Than Dirt

Land represents more than acreage.

Land can produce food. Land can create businesses. Land can employ families. Land can become an inheritance. And when maintained from one generation to the next, land can become the foundation of lasting economic stability.

That is why the Black farmer’s struggle should matter even to those of us who have never planted a crop.

Our ancestors went from being forced to work land they could never own to generations fighting for the right to purchase and maintain land of their own.

That history should never be forgotten.

And in 2026, when a longtime Black farmer and national advocate says he cannot get into the room where America’s agricultural future is being discussed, we should pay attention.

Not simply because Brother Boyd says he was left out.

But because history has already taught us what can happen when our farmers, businesses and communities don’t have a voice when decisions affecting their futures are being made.

Our responsibility is therefore twofold: continue demanding a fair seat at the table while strengthening the economic table within our own community.

Our history shows what Black Americans have contributed to building this nation.

The next chapter should also show what we can build—and sustain—for ourselves.

BLXCR — Grassroots Reporting. Community Voices. Stories That Matter.