Agriculture an Important Part of Black History

Greensboro, NC: Between 1920 and 1992, the number of black-owned farms in the United States decreased from 925,000 to 18,000, or from 14 percent to one percent of all farms in the country. The 514 percent decline in farm ownership by African-Americans is even more alarming, considering the rich history of African-American farmers. 

"Most African-American families with histories in the South can trace their heritage to a farm," said Dr. Carey Ford, associate professor of agricultural education with the North Carolina A&T State University School of Agriculture. 

According to Ford, during the Civil War and in the periods immediately following, most of the country's raw materials were produced in the South, while most manufacturing occurred in the North. 

"Most of the five million former slaves living in the South after the Civil War began farming," said Ford. "Generally, those who stayed in the South made their living by farming." 

Ford himself can trace his family's history to a Robeson County farm, which belonged to his great-grandfather, a former slave. According to Ford, the farm was earned through seven years of servitude performed by his great grandfather's oldest son. 

Involvement of minorities in farming was advanced by a number of progressive thinkers, such as Booker T. Washington and George Carver Washington, in the years following the Civil War. 

Carver, an agricultural chemist, is recognized for, among other things, promoting crop rotation and the importance of proper diet, and for teaching others how to farm scientifically. Many historians credit Carver for helping unseat cotton as the dominant crop in the South. 

Born a slave in 1856, Washington founded Tuskegee Institute, the first industrial training school for blacks with an entirely black faculty, in 1881. Washington is recognized for liberating former slaves from the poverty associated with sharecropping, by teaching them mechanical and agricultural skills. 

"Both Carver and Washington were instrumental in the growth of African American landowners and farmers in the late 19th century," said Ford. "Farming wasn't an easy way of life for these people, but Carver and Washington showed them how to provide an income for their families." 
The importance of agriculture in the late 19th century South is evidenced by a series of land-grant institutions, similar to Tuskegee, which began appearing throughout the region at that time. 

The 1890 land-grant institutions, like North Carolina A&T State University, were created as a result of the Second Morrill Act of 1890, which expanded the system of land-grant universities to include an historically black institution in those states where segregation denied minorities access to the land-grant institution established in 1862. 

According to Ford, the number of African-American farmers began declining with the influx of industry to the South, particularly textile mills. 

"Factory jobs provided a reliable income, whereas income from farming was dependent on weather and other conditions beyond the control of the farmer," said Ford. "Fearing that farming wouldn't provide enough income for raising a family, many farmers moved away from the land and toward more urban areas." 

Ford views this apprehension toward farming as a continuing factor in the declining numbers of African-American farmers. While working as a bank loan officer earlier in his career, he was witness to the difficulties in farming, especially for young people just starting to farm. 

"Agriculture is a business and it requires a lot of start-up capital," said Ford. "Unless young people come from a family farm and have access to land and equipment, getting a start in farming is extremely difficult. Unfortunately, fewer and fewer of our students come from farm backgrounds." 

Though the presence of minorities in agriculture isn't as prevalent as it once was, students in the NC A&T School of Agriculture are often reminded of the roles their ancestors played in the development of agriculture. 

Through such classes as Introduction to Agricultural Education, The History and Philosophy of Vocational Education and Secondary Education in Agriculture, faculty impress on their students that the past should be used as a building block for the future.