I felt so discouraged as I read this, and am astounded that there are any Black farmers at all. Chuck Grassley, Iowa’s quintessential White farmer doesn’t seem to have addressed any of this from his many years of power. I’m guessing he’s received his share of the billions given to white farmers.
Thanks for your work in helping us understand this inequity, Bob.
99.7% of all Iowa farmers are white, it's the whitest thing you can find. Ag wants to dismiss this by saying, well, all the early settlers were white and farming is a generational business. But they were white for a reason--Iowa territorial codes restricted black people from entering by requiring people of color to pay a $500 bond to enter the state, an enormous sum at the time. Thus all the early farmers were white and they still are. The triangle of land in far SE Iowa between the Des Moines and Mississippi Rivers was reserved for mixed race people, mainly white/Native American, but they were pushed out within a few years as whites grabbed that land too.
One of the reasons we farm so much land in Iowa is that this was a way to force Native Americans out of the state. Thus we still farm a lot of marginal land that otherwise would not have been farmed.
Wow. Numerous things I didn't know here, Chris. I only knew about Iowa's "Black codes" that not only required the $500 bond, but required Blacks entering the state to present a certificate of freedom. If they were caught without it, they could be hired out for cash for six months and the county treasury got the money. Thanks for sharing this, Chris!
(Again, for some reason I'm unable to "like" comments in Substack. Sorry)
Our nation's history is rife with examples how our past is ignored, even denied, all in the name of maintaining the veneer of equality. Great report, Bob.
What a stain on both Iowa and US agriculture. Racism is so engrained that it is taken for granted in large swaths of society. Black farmers have been treated the same as the black population in our large cities, including, Des Moines. It was called red lighting. The generational disadvantages perpetrated by both of these injustices can never really be repaired. But with grace and forbearance, perhaps we can finally get about changing the narrative. You reluctant double haters, get out and vote! Bring your neighbors too!
Thank you for taking the time to write about this and to put things together so succinctly, Bob. It is truly amazing that someone can read this, look at that list, or look at history and continue to believe Black farmers are given an unfair advantage and these redress programs illegally discriminate against White farmers. I don't think they really believe it. It's just an excuse to keep all of the pie.
Great comment and analysis. Iowa was more enlighten 100 years ago.
Cousin Johnnie
At ninety-nine years,
Seven months,
And twenty-two days,
Johnnie Winston offered a smile,
But otherwise ignored the hand,
Extended to help him from the passenger seat,
Of a twenty-fourteen Ford Focus,
Leaned slightly forward, and raised,
His one-hundred sixty-eight pounds,
Into the Iowa morning sun.
“J. O. Winston, a Negro dairyman of Ottumwa, Iowa, won the highest honor in a milk test that was held for the entire state of Iowa.”
ANNUAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEGRO 1918-1919 . MONR0E N. WORK Director Department of Records and Research Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute
EDITOR º, PUBLISHED BY The Negro Year Book Publishing Company TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE, ALABAMA ROBERT E. PARK, President EMMETT J. SCOTT, Treasurer - - - MONROE N. WORK,
Secretary s Copyright by Negro Year Book Company 1919 .”
Thank you for sharing a bit of Ottumwa history! And ditto what Robert Leonard said. Your accomplishments/the work you do to protect human rights and champion employment are amazing, necessary, and have helped many.
(Sorry. For some reason, I'm unable to "like" comments in Substack.)
Thank you! Thanks also for your many years of distinguished service. I'm going to share this with my friend Rachelle Chase who lives and writes in Ottumwa. https://rachellechase.substack.com/
This piece appeared just after I listened to a podcast on NPR Fresh Air, "How Formerly Enslaved People Were Stripped of Land", so I was in the zone when I read this, Bob.
I felt so discouraged as I read this, and am astounded that there are any Black farmers at all. Chuck Grassley, Iowa’s quintessential White farmer doesn’t seem to have addressed any of this from his many years of power. I’m guessing he’s received his share of the billions given to white farmers.
Thanks for your work in helping us understand this inequity, Bob.
I will never understand this determination to put others down to elevate yourself.
99.7% of all Iowa farmers are white, it's the whitest thing you can find. Ag wants to dismiss this by saying, well, all the early settlers were white and farming is a generational business. But they were white for a reason--Iowa territorial codes restricted black people from entering by requiring people of color to pay a $500 bond to enter the state, an enormous sum at the time. Thus all the early farmers were white and they still are. The triangle of land in far SE Iowa between the Des Moines and Mississippi Rivers was reserved for mixed race people, mainly white/Native American, but they were pushed out within a few years as whites grabbed that land too.
One of the reasons we farm so much land in Iowa is that this was a way to force Native Americans out of the state. Thus we still farm a lot of marginal land that otherwise would not have been farmed.
I had no idea. thanks Chris.
Wow. Numerous things I didn't know here, Chris. I only knew about Iowa's "Black codes" that not only required the $500 bond, but required Blacks entering the state to present a certificate of freedom. If they were caught without it, they could be hired out for cash for six months and the county treasury got the money. Thanks for sharing this, Chris!
(Again, for some reason I'm unable to "like" comments in Substack. Sorry)
Our nation's history is rife with examples how our past is ignored, even denied, all in the name of maintaining the veneer of equality. Great report, Bob.
Love "the veneer of equality."
Great report Bob, it exposes a lesser known problem but an important one especially for the State of Iowa.
What a stain on both Iowa and US agriculture. Racism is so engrained that it is taken for granted in large swaths of society. Black farmers have been treated the same as the black population in our large cities, including, Des Moines. It was called red lighting. The generational disadvantages perpetrated by both of these injustices can never really be repaired. But with grace and forbearance, perhaps we can finally get about changing the narrative. You reluctant double haters, get out and vote! Bring your neighbors too!
Many thanks. Love old Iowa and the Iowa to come.
Thank you for taking the time to write about this and to put things together so succinctly, Bob. It is truly amazing that someone can read this, look at that list, or look at history and continue to believe Black farmers are given an unfair advantage and these redress programs illegally discriminate against White farmers. I don't think they really believe it. It's just an excuse to keep all of the pie.
Great comment and analysis. Iowa was more enlighten 100 years ago.
Cousin Johnnie
At ninety-nine years,
Seven months,
And twenty-two days,
Johnnie Winston offered a smile,
But otherwise ignored the hand,
Extended to help him from the passenger seat,
Of a twenty-fourteen Ford Focus,
Leaned slightly forward, and raised,
His one-hundred sixty-eight pounds,
Into the Iowa morning sun.
“J. O. Winston, a Negro dairyman of Ottumwa, Iowa, won the highest honor in a milk test that was held for the entire state of Iowa.”
ANNUAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEGRO 1918-1919 . MONR0E N. WORK Director Department of Records and Research Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute
EDITOR º, PUBLISHED BY The Negro Year Book Publishing Company TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE, ALABAMA ROBERT E. PARK, President EMMETT J. SCOTT, Treasurer - - - MONROE N. WORK,
Secretary s Copyright by Negro Year Book Company 1919 .”
Thank you for sharing a bit of Ottumwa history! And ditto what Robert Leonard said. Your accomplishments/the work you do to protect human rights and champion employment are amazing, necessary, and have helped many.
(Sorry. For some reason, I'm unable to "like" comments in Substack.)
Thank you! Thanks also for your many years of distinguished service. I'm going to share this with my friend Rachelle Chase who lives and writes in Ottumwa. https://rachellechase.substack.com/
This piece appeared just after I listened to a podcast on NPR Fresh Air, "How Formerly Enslaved People Were Stripped of Land", so I was in the zone when I read this, Bob.
Thanks.
Does anyone know where Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack stands on this?
He is 100% behind the effort to support the Black farmers.
Find out who are the black farmers in Iowa and ask them why they didn’t attend the seminar.