Discrimination relief payments begin as some Black farmers ask courts to include heirs in program

One group is seeking an emergency injunction citing the Supreme Court’s repeal of the Chevron Doctrine

The Biden administration is sending out millions of dollars in relief checks to farmers who have faced discrimination, just ahead of an emergency request at a federal court to temporarily pause the process. President Joe Biden and the White House are touting the payments to over 43,000 people as part of an effort to address inequity in farm loan programs, which data obtained in a CNN Freedom of Information Act request reveal has persisted for Black farmers especially. “Farmers and ranchers work around the clock to put food on our tables and steward our Nation’s land,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday. “But for too long, many farmers and ranchers experienced discrimination in farm loan programs and have not had the same access to federal resources and support.” But the long-awaited payments come amid a backdrop of a group of Black farmers who have sued, saying the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program should be open to applicants filing on behalf of their deceased relatives who faced discrimination. The Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, which says it has over 20,000 members, lost at a federal district court. It’s currently asking the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals to pause the relief payment process and reconsider the lawsuit – before the program runs out of money. “We are asking … that the Department of Agriculture discontinue its attack of discrimination against the African American community, particularly African American farming and ranching community and their subsequent heirs,” BFFA President Thomas Burrell told CNN.