Study: Black farmers lost $326 billion in land value during 20th century
Discriminatory lending practices and forced land sales contributed to the loss of about $326 billion in land value for Black farmers during the 20th century, according to a new study.
The study was conducted by the University of Massachusetts-Boston and published in the AEA Papers and Proceedings publication. It is the first known study to analyze the current value of land lost by Black farmers in the U.S.
In 1910, Blacks owned about 16 million acres of farm land, mostly within 17 states. By 2017, land ownership dropped to 4.7 million acres, according to agricultural data.
The study cites discriminatory USDA lending policies and forced sales of co-owned properties as some of the factors that contributed to Black farmers losing their land between 1920 and 1997.
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