NC African American Farmers and Fishermen

This August 2019 WUNC Radio interview with Frank Stasio on The State of Things highlights the plight of African American farmers and fishermen historically and in this face of current climate change. The number of black farmers in the United States has dropped exponentially since the beginning of the 20th century.  2017 data from the Department of Agriculture shows African Americans make up less than 2 percent of the country’s 3.4 million farmers. That year, there were just over 2,000 black farmers in North Carolina. Guided by Dr. Malinda Lowery at UNC-Chapel Hill and Dr. Blair Kelley at NC State University, Ph.D. student Melody Hunter-Pillion connects the past and present. Melody presented the podcast in video documentary form during the September 2019 Black Communities Conference at the Carolina Theater in Durham. Listen to the radio interview.