Roots of resilience

A case study on the strength and survival of small-scale Black farmers in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta region

Abstract

How are Black farmers experiencing agriculture today? The shadow of an egregious history for Black farmers over the last century has sought to submerge into the story behind the experiences of Black farmers today. Yet, contemporary Black farmers are reshaping the narrative beyond their demise, revitalizing their significance and what they bring to rural areas such as the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta region. This article takes a qualitative explor­atory approach to examine how small-scale Black farmers in the region experience agriculture through strategies of self-reliance and autonomy. We draw on the theory of Black agrarianism to illu­minate how such experiences are shaped by (1) Farm Profitability and Farm Expenses, (2) Resource Scarcity and U.S. Department of Agri­culture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Rela­tionships, and (3) Resiliency Strategies. Our find­ings offer new perspectives on Black agrarianism by exploring coping strategies that uphold self-empowerment and self-sufficiency, interconnecting both tangible and intangible responses by Black farmers to agricultural, political, social, and eco­nomic inequities. While evidence shows that Black farmers in the Delta are subject to unequal treatment in the agricultural system, the legacy of Black agrarianism persists among Mississippi’s Black farmers as a testament to their resilience in the face of agricultural barriers.