Pigford v. Glickman
This page analyzes a single policy using structured scoring, historical evidence, source quality, and measurable outcomes.
Summary
Black farmers sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture over decades of racial discrimination in farm credit and benefit programs and the government's failure to process civil-rights complaints fairly.
How to Read This Record
Impact Reading
Very high documented impact
Evidence Base
Moderate evidence from Government sources.
Data Completeness
Good record with 2 sources and 0 metrics.
Outcome Summary
The consent decree produced compensation and some debt relief for thousands of Black farmers, but it also highlighted how much land, credit access, and economic opportunity had already been lost through USDA discrimination.
Categories
Impact Scores
This score is a structured measure of how directly and materially this policy affected Black communities, weighted by evidence, durability, and equity. Harm offset reduces the total score.
Total Impact Score
30
Directness
5
How explicitly the policy targeted or affected Black communities.
Material Impact
4
The practical real-world effect on conditions, rights, or outcomes.
Evidence
5
Strength of sourcing and historical support for the assessment.
Durability
3
How lasting the effects of the policy were over time.
Equity
3
Whether the policy advanced fairness, inclusion, or equal access.
Harm Offset
2
Any offsetting harms, limitations, exclusions, or contradictory effects that reduce the total.
Scoring Notes: A major civil-rights and economic-justice case for Black farmers, but one that did not fully repair accumulated land loss and lending exclusion.
Metrics
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Suggested Relationships
These policies may be related based on shared categories, era, and proximity in time.
2001 • Law • Republican Party
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2021 • Executive Order • Democratic Party
Contemporary Era • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 22
2021 • Law • Democratic Party
Contemporary Era • Mixed
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 22
2021 • Program • Democratic Party
Contemporary Era • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 22
2023 • Law • Democratic Party
Contemporary Era • Blocked
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 24
2023 • Law • Democratic Party
Contemporary Era • Blocked
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 24
1974 • Law • Republican Party
Contemporary Era • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 25
Sources
Department of Justice and USDA Announce Historic Settlement in Lawsuit by Black Farmers Claiming Discrimination by USDA
U.S. Department of Justice • Government
Published: Feb 18, 2010
DOJ announcement explaining the Pigford litigation history and the follow-on settlement process for excluded claimants.
View sourceAfrican American Farmers Settlement (Pigford II)
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency • Government
USDA settlement document summarizing eligibility and claims procedures for the Pigford II process.
View source