Black Farmers in America, 1865-2000: The Pursuit of Independent Farming and the Role of Cooperatives
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Black farmers in America have had a long and arduous struggle to own land and to
operate independently. For more than a century after the Civil War, deficient civil rights
and various economic and social barriers were applied to maintaining a system where
many blacks worked as farm operators with a limited and often total lack of opportunity
to achieve ownership and operating independence. Diminished civil rights also limited
collective action strategies, such as cooperatives and unions. Even so, various types
of cooperatives, including farmer associations, were organized in black farming communities
prior to the 1960s. During the 1960s, the civil rights movement brought a new
emphasis on cooperatives. Leaders and organizations adopted an explicit purpose
and role of black cooperatives in pursuing independent farming. Increasingly, new
technology and integrated contracting systems are diminishing independent decision-making
in the management of farms. As this trend expands, more cooperatives may
be motivated, with a determination similar to those serving black farmers, to pursue
proactive strategies for maintaining independent farming.