The National Black Food and Justice Alliance (NBFJA) is a coalition of Black food producers and nonprofits that advocate for increasing cooperation and political support for Black farmers. NBFJA claims that Black farmers have been the victims of systemic racism for at least a century, primarily at the hands of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and that federal reforms like the Justice for Black Farmers Act are needed to combat discrimination.

As of September 2023, NBFJA has 56 organizational members. ¹

Beliefs

The National Black Food and Justice Alliance (NBFJA) asserts that “Black communities have […] deep historical roots in Black food security, production and culture—from farming, to developing systems of distribution, cooperatives, to shaping the culinary traditions of foodways nationwide, to production and a wide array of food businesses.” ²

It claims that Black food producers “are in a critical time and trend right now” due to “a growing distancing from land based culture in black communities that is perpetrated by racist policies within the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] and related financial systems.” This trend has resulted in “Black land loss, reduction of Black farming, excessive junk food marketing in Black communities coupled with reduced access to healthy food infrastructure in urban and rural Black communities.” ³

NBFJA seeks to organize Black food producers to support each other and resist the erosion of their community. This organization takes the forms of increasing visibility, strengthening institutions, taking “direct action” in politics, and creating a “togetherness space” where “collective wisdom” emerges. ⁴

Pigford Lawsuit

National Black Food and Justice Alliance claims that Black agricultural land ownership has rapidly declined over the last century in the United States due to systemic racism primarily perpetrated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). NBFJA’s major evidence for this claim comes from the Pigford v. Glickman case, a case in which Black farmers launched a class action suit against the USDA claiming discrimination regarding the USDA’s handling of numerous complaints from 1983 to 1997. The government agreed to pay or cede relief valued at over $1 billion. ^{5 6}

Platform

National Black Food and Justice Alliance seeks “sovereignty” for Black food producers, or the right and ability to produce and control food. Achieving systematic “sovereignty” includes “shifting from an exclusively rights-based framework to a framework of governance and community power” to focus on “the needs of those working and consuming at all points of the food chain, over the demands of corporations and markets.” ⁷

NBFJA advocates “self-determination” for Black food producers within the economy. This requires reforming the current food markets away from “a white dominant power paradigm that is dependent on the extraction of Black wealth and labor” and toward “alternative economies including but not limited to cooperatives and shared economies.” ⁸

NBFJA advocates for “land justice,” or the increased ownership of land by Black individuals with government support. ⁹

Activities

Agroecology Center

The National Black Food and Justice Alliance runs the Agroecology Center, a research group dedicated to Black food production trends and practices. The first physical branch of the Center was launched at the Lola Hampton-Frank Pinder Center for Agroecology at the Florida A&M University. ¹⁰

Justice for Black Farmers Act

NBFJA supports the Justice for Black Farmers Act, a bill introduced in 2021 by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). The Justice for Black Farmers Act is designed to eliminate and reverse alleged discrimination against Black farmers within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Measures include creating the Equitable Land Access Service which would spend $8 billion annually buying farmland to be given to existing and new Black farmers and give additional funding to historically Black colleges and nonprofits that support Black farmers. The bill would also create a Farm Conservation Corps that would fund programs for poor Black individuals to gain experience in farming, potentially priming them for future land grants from the USDA. ¹¹

Food Map and Directory

NBFJA operates a record of Black food producers in the United States. ¹²

Members

The National Black Food and Justice Alliance (NBFJA) splits its membership between “Anchor” members, organizations where at least 70 percent of executive staff positions and board seats are held by “black identifying” individuals; “Our Beloved” members, organizations where at least 51 percent of executive positions and board seats are held by Black individuals; and “Our Cultivators,” individuals who “identify as Black or of African descent and are interested in and have demonstrated a commitment toward their own politicizing and analysis around Black food sovereignty, anti-Blackness, and Black liberation.” ¹³

Leadership

National Black Food and Justice Alliance co-executive director Cicely Garrett is the former deputy chief resilience officer of Atlanta. Garrett oversaw the implementation of the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative to “address challenges and opportunities arising in metro Atlanta as a result urbanization, globalization and climate change.” ¹⁴

1. “Membership.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/membership.
2. “About Us.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/about-us-1
3. “About Us.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/about-us-1.
4. “About Us.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/about-us-1.
5. “Black Land and Power.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/blacklandandpower.
6. “The Pigford Cases: USDA Settlement of Discrimination Suits by Black Farmers.” Every CRS Report. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RS20430.html.
7. “About Us.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/about-us-1.
8. “About Us.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/about-us-1.
9. “About Us.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/about-us-1.
10. “The Agroecology Center.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/agroecology-center.
11. “Justice for Black Farmers Act.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/supportaction.
12. “Food Map & Directory.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/food-map-director.
13. “Membership.” National Black Food and Justice Alliance. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://blackfoodjustice.org/membership.
14. “Cicely Garrett.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 9, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cicelygarrett.