Farming in the U.S. and the Opportunities for Correcting Past Harms
John Boyd Jr. and his mule Jesus. Credit: John Boyd, Jr.
John Boyd Jr. is the civil rights leader you’ve never heard of. For decades, he’s been fighting the U.S. government’s discrimination against Black farmers like himself, securing billions for them to keep their lands–and keep the legacy of Black people in agriculture alive. It’s a legacy that traces back to slavery, when Black Americans built the agricultural wealth of the United States.
Today, farm workers are predominantly Latino, especially in the West, and are witnesses to their own decades-long history of mobilization for the rights to fair wages and working conditions in the fields. In California, that legacy now includes a booming business of legal cannabis cultivation. This episode explores the throughlines of racism and economic exploitation in agriculture, but also where great opportunity for reconstruction of the industry–and reparations for past harm–can exist, if we know where to look.
Reported by Paulina Velasco.
Follow John Boyd Jr. on Twitter @JWBoydNBFA.
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