Black Farmers in America - Tapa dura

""Rich and groundbreaking.... Ficara's images bear witness to the devastating impact of agribusiness on all small farmers, the intractability of racism in the USDA, and the aging of the farm population."" -- Agricultural History "This eloquent book paints a picture of what is happening today to small, independent, black farmers.... I hope this is a documentary for black farmers of future generations, and not one about the fading of a way of life. Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended." -- Armchair Interviews "Gorgeous." -- Washington Post "Sometimes haunting, sometimes joyous." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch "Ficara's photographs, well over 100, are solemn, restrained, dour. He has a story to tell, and he does it graphically." -- RALPH "Ficara's approach... is honestand frank. He puts a face to those he sees as being under attack by the forces of history. His efforts, like the steadfast work of his subjects, hopefully are not doomed." -- Photo-Eye "Traces the long evolution of American apiculture and focuses upon the key personalities who shaped and promoted the industry.... A clearly written, well researched, and sharply focused work." -- Ohio Valley History "A carefully crafted and meticulously researched book.... Without question this volume adds much to our understanding of African American life in the United States from the enslavement period to today." -- Northern Kentucky Heritage "Ficara's extraordinary photography captures what could easily be the last breath of a dying culture.... A magnificent celebration of resilient spirit in the face of astonishing odds." -- New York Resident "The story of the black American farmer is told with tenderness and raw truth." -- Multicultural Review "His photos show people fighting for, and all too often losing, what they know and love." -- Los Angles Times "Ficara's photos show people fighting for, and all too often losing, what they know and love." -- Los Angeles Times "Images of emotional faces and determined eyes of the black farmers who remain today evoke America's original sin" -- Juan Williams, from the book "The photographs reflect a strength, pride, beauty, and endurance of a dying breed of African Americans." -- Booklist "This book is not a nostalgic look at days gone by; it is a portrait of prideful black Americans whose hearts brim with determination, hope, strength, and a promise they aim to fulfill" -- Black Issues Book Review "A powerful collection of images documenting the struggles of black farmers." -- Birmingham News "Elegaic.... Makes it clear that something is being lost, that some tether to our agrarian roots will soon be severed." -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Just as John Ficara captures poignant images of Black farmers, Juan Williams... complements these stunning images with enlightened, descriptive, and thoughtful narrative. " -- (Lexington, KY) Key Newsjournal "Awarded AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers, for Outstanding Book Design." --

In Greene County, Alabama, a deserted farmhouse sits in the middle of a field so overgrown with weeds that the house is completely engulfed; snaking vines and stalks cover the doors and windows and invade the chimney, choking off any possibility of human habitation. Hidden by a curtain of greenery, the house stands as a silent testament to the loss that black American farmers and their families have endured during the twentieth century. What keeps these families from their dreams and way of life, however, is not the encroachment of natural forces but the demise of a culture that supports independent farmers. In 1920, black Americans made up 14 percent of all farmers in the nation, and they owned and worked 15 million acres of land. Today, battling the onslaught of globalization, changing technology, an aging workforce, racist lending policies, and even the U.S. Department of Agriculture, black farmers account for less than 1 percent of the nation's farmers and cultivate fewer than 3 million acres of land. Experts predict that within the next ten years, black-owned family farms will all but cease to exist. Inside these statistics is a staggering story of human loss that led photographer John Francis Ficara on a four-year journey across America to document and preserve the struggles of black farmers. The result of this journey is Black Farmers in America, a collection of 110 photographs skillfully reproduced in duotone that captures poignant images of hardship, survival, and a people's bond to the soil at the end of the twentieth century. From depictions of a hand-painted "For Sale" billboard in a farmer's field, to a farmer preparing for the early morning chore of milking, to a lone figure pausing to survey his land, these photos preserve a heritage and way of life that may soon disappear as these last-generation farmers harvest their final crops. In his essay, Juan Williams provides a historical context for the photographs. From the myth of "forty acres and a mule" to the multi-million-dollar USDA settlement in 1999, Williams explores America's ongoing struggle with racism and its economic consequences for black farmers. The hardships and joys of daily life on the farm echo deeply in these images. They convey a dignity of work and culture, and they document the experiences of black farmers for future generations.