Black farmers are suing the federal government for scrapping a multi-billion dollar debt relief program intended to help the dwindling number of people of color who keep the country's farmlands afloat, Yahoo News reports.
On Wednesday (October 12), Black farmers alongside civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced the filing of a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. government, alleging that it went back on its promise to direct $4 billion to minority farm workers through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) after white farmers claimed the relief program was a form of discrimination.
“They broke their promise to Black farmers and other farmers of color,” John Boyd, a plaintiff and the president of the National Black Farmers Association, told NBC News just before Wednesday's press conference.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 intended to help minority farmers pay off Department of Agriculture loans, provide other forms of debt relief, and aid those who have faced discrimination from the government in the past.
However, the $4 billion fund was never delivered to Black farmers and other minority farm workers.
The money was held up in court as white farmers challenged the program, claiming it was a violation of their constitutional rights to be ineligible for the funds.
The original program was ultimately replaced with the August passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which repealed Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan, directly affecting farmers of color.
In a statement Wednesday, the Department of Agriculture said it sought to provide funding to farmers of color under ARPA, but court challenges to the program prevented the government from doing so.
“USDA strongly supported the ARPA Section 1005 program and was ready to make payments to direct-loan borrowers. However, the $5 billion that was intended to help farmers was frozen by three nationwide injunctions that prevented USDA from getting payments out the door," Marissa Perry, Department of Agriculture press secretary, told Yahoo News.
"The government vigorously defended this program in the courts but because of these injunctions, the $5 billion provided in ARPA remained frozen," Perry continued. "This litigation would likely have not been resolved for years.”
The lawsuit argues that the government breached its contract with minority farmers under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The plaintiffs seek damages to be paid out to themselves and those they represent, per NBC News.
“This fight is about the land,” Boyd said, “because we’ve lost so much of it.”
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