Black South Carolina farmer recognized for overcoming struggles to keep family’s legacy from crumbling

SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — For many Black farmers in the United States in the late 1800s and 1900s, farming was the only source of income and survival for their families.

Currently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that there are roughly 40,000 Black farmers nationwide. However, they own less than 1% of the nation’s farmland; white farmers own roughly 95%.

As we honor Black History Month, News13 anchor Annette Peagler talked with the Rev. Jermaine Walker, who at one point was in jeopardy of losing his farm to foreclosure before he got help from the nonprofit National Black Farmers Association and the USDA.

The Pinewood, South Carolina, native, who began learning how to farm at the age of 10, recently was named the Black Farmer of the Year. He inherited his father’s land in 1994.

“[I] grew up on the farm, [my] parents were farmers, their parents were farmers, and I’m sure the parents before them were farmers, but we know for sure, third generation of farmers, we know right here on this property,” Walker said.

On a recent tour of his farm, Walker said he was the youngest of eight children in his family.

“Most of the backbone of America was built on agriculture, and in the South, it remained that way,” Walker said.

Walker is obviously proud of what his family has built.

“This poultry farm is owned by two of my cousins, Lewis and Jesse Walker,” he said. “Jesse has passed, but Lewis is still currently farming. They ran it many years, and, to my knowledge, they were some of the first minority farmers, Black poultry farmers in here”

In years past, the Walker family farm, which consisted of 72 acres in Sumter County, was booming.

“Along with home ownership, land ownership is paramount here in America, as far as building wealth and transferring that wealth from generation to generation,” Walker said.

The farm helped generations of his family survive.

“People depended on a family garden,” Walker said. “They depended on raising a hog not only for food but for sale, a few cows to supplement the income.”

However, as the economy fluctuated through the year, the farm that was once his family’s legacy faced foreclosure, he said.

“I was about to lose it,” Walker said. “The bank had buyers lined up looking. There was a closing date, and even if I [sold], I was going to end up owing the bank a huge amount of money.”

Walker eventually tapped into his network, which included the National Black Farmers Association, for help.

“We founded the organization in the mid-80s to help eradicate discrimination for Black farmers who were struggling to get loans from the United States Department of Agriculture,” said John Boyd, founder and president of the association.

Boyd, a fourth-generation Virginia farmer, said that traditionally Blacks have been systematically left out of programs that enable farmers to acquire land and build wealth. He said they also have been denied debt relief that was contractually promised in previous lawsuits.

“In this case, they promised $5 billion,” Boyd said. “We have it in the contract; they broke the contract, they reneged, and I see it no differently than 40 acres and a mule. We were promised 40 acres and a mule and we didn’t get it.”

Boyd said the government settled two class-action lawsuits, including one from 1997.

“You were supposed to receive debt relief, and if you had your farm in federal inventory, you were supposed to get your farm out of inventory, and the government reneged on both of those deals,” Boyd said.

He added that the Biden administration initially promised billions of dollars in debt relief for minority farmers but countersuits from white farmers in federal court held up those funds.

However, Walker was able to get some help.

“The administration didn’t quite deliver on their first promises, but fortunately since I was already in foreclosure, I kind of fell in a situation where I did qualify for some money and was able to pay it out of foreclosure,” Walker said.

Boyd said Walker nearly fell through the cracks but that his drive and tenacity kept the farm afloat, which is a big reason that he was recognized as the Black Farmer of the Year.

“He’s a very humble, dignified man, and my hats off to him,” Boy said. “That’s why we honored him this year at our conference because of the way he carried himself and the fight that Mr. Walker had from the state of South Carolina.”

Going forward, Walker said it’s going to take a lot of work to continue to earn that reward and make the farm as profitable and sustainable as possible.

A USDA spokesperson released the following statement about Walker:

“Reverend Walker is one of 38,000 farmers nationwide and one of 472 in South Carolina that USDA has been able to help stay on their farm and keep farming through the resources provided by the Inflation Reduction Act. This assistance for farmers in financial distress has helped USDA demonstrate that we are on their side and want to help them continue operating. We look forward to reaching even more as we continue to deliver this program.”

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Annette Peagler is an evening anchor at News13. Annette is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She joined the News13 team in December 2020. Annette is an Emmy-nominated journalist and has won journalism awards in Mississippi and Tennessee. Follow Annette on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here.

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