Donald Trump signed an executive order eliminating all federally funded diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The move has triggered a ripple effect across the country, with colleges, big cities, and even major corporations scrambling to adjust. For Black farmers in East Texas, though, the fallout has been especially severe.
Roy Mills, a third-generation Black farmer, says the funding freeze has stalled nearly every major project on his land, reported by Texas Tribune. Mills and his brother Ike, who run a nonprofit focused on farming education, lost $300,000 in federal grants they were expecting to host a conference this year. Without that support, planting seasons are delayed, equipment upgrades are on hold, and long-planned farming projects have ground to a halt.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that to comply with Trump’s order, it ended diversity initiatives across 14 programs, canceling 3,600 contracts and grants. The department estimates the move will save more than $5.5 billion, but it comes at a steep cost to small, minority-owned farms. Applications for future aid will now be reviewed without factoring in race, gender, or veteran status.
For many Black farmers, this wasn’t a surprise. Some even admit the prior programs meant to help them rarely delivered results. But now, they’re stuck in limbo, waiting to see if a refocus on small farms — many of which are Black-owned — will eventually lead to fairer opportunities.
Until then, Mills says, “everything is at a standstill.” And for farmers trying to make a living while the clock ticks on planting season, that standstill could mean losing even more ground in an industry where margins are already razor-thin.
