Black U.S. farmers' struggle to get debt relief extends painful history soiled by racism

There was a time when Black farms prospered. Just two generations out of slavery, by 1910 Black farmers had amassed more than 16 million acres of land and made up about 14% of farmers. The fruit of their labors fed much of America.

Now, they have fewer than 4.7 million acres. Black farms in the U.S. plummeted from 925,000 to fewer than 36,000, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest farm census. And only about one in 100 farmers is Black. What happened? They were able to overcome the broken promise of "40 acres and a mule" to the newly freed slaves — a military order, later rescinded. But over the last century, they faced one obstacle after another because of their race.