IL SR0266

Illinois had 892 Black farmers in 1920 who owned 14 percent of the nation's farmland, but the 2017 USDA Census showed only 188 individually Black-owned farms comprising 40,412 acres out of 116,417 total agricultural producers in the state.

Historical racial discrimination, including unequal loan treatment by the U.S. Agriculture Department, drove Black farmers off their land and contributed to ongoing disparities in farm ownership across Illinois and the Midwest.

Urges the Illinois Department of Agriculture to study the effects and types of land loss experienced by Black farmers from post-slavery through the present day.

Calls for state support and capacity building for Black farming communities and dedication to growing agriculture in rural, urban, and suburban areas to address food access and economic resilience in vulnerable communities.

Directs copies of the resolution to be delivered to the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the National Black Farmers Association.