What would a museum dedicated to Black farmers look like? This Mississippi woman knows

Generations of Black farmers in the Delta have suffered under the weight of racial discrimination yet they continue to persevere.

One Mississippi woman is working to open a museum that will be a tribute to the struggles — and triumphs — of Black farmers in the Delta. The museum also will serve as a cultural and educational center for students and to give access to today's farmers to grants and loans and how to navigate the system to secure them.

"I want to help farmers know what's available to them and then how to access it," said Willena Scott-White, whose father Ed Scott Jr. is believed to be the nation's first Black catfish farmer.

The museum also will include the stories of the many farmers negatively affected by racism. Scott-White also hopes to teach young students about farming and what areas of farming they can go into if that is their career choice.

Daughter witnessed father's struggles to survive in farming

Scott-White said she knows firsthand the challenges faced by farmers in the Delta. That is why she decided to open a museum that would help others understand how difficult it was — and for some, still is.

"We get the big picture, but we don't get the struggles of the farmers who weren't allowed to fill out applications (for grants and loans), who were run off their lands, who here mistreated," she said. "It is what we call systemic. It is still in the system."

Scott-White said the language used in the farm loan and grant applications is ambiguous and open to interpretation while still within the confines of the law. Who is approved for farm assistance often depends on the color of the farmer's skin, she said.

"They keep saying, 'You don't do this and you don't to that,' but there's no explanation for it," she said. "They can interpret how they want to and change it whenever they want to."

Father denied financial assistance time after time

Her father, she said, was a prime example of what Black farmers endured.

Scott Jr. farmed cotton, soybeans and rice on the family farm, which had grown to nearly 2,000 acres through his father Ed Scott Sr.'s efforts.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Scott Jr. saw catfish farming becoming a trend in the Delta, so he shifted his focus to producing catfish. He dug his own ponds but was denied help in funding the farm.

As told in the Mississippi Encyclopedia, "the Farmers Home Administration’s district supervisor refused to aid Scott in acquiring loans. As Scott recalled, 'I went to him and asked for a loan to stock them. He said no, and then he turned right around let a white farmer I knew have $5.5 million for catfish.'"

Undeterred, Scott Jr. went to Jackson and applied for an FSA loan at the main Mississippi office. While he did not receive millions, he was given a $150,000 loan to buy catfish fingerlings.

That was not the end of Scott Jr.'s problems, she explained. After the ponds were stocked, he was again stopped by local authorities, who claimed the ponds were stocked illegally. They began removing the fish from the ponds but had to return them after a determined Scott was able to secure court-ordered intervention.

The Scott family endured even more racially motivated hardships, including the loss of family land, some of which was designated wetlands so it couldn't be used for farming or anything else. It was a way to keep the Scott family out of the farming business.

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All was lost, but the fight continued for Scott family and others

By the mid-1980s, Scott Jr. lost the land and everything on it.

But those in the capacity to hinder Scott's efforts to succeed underestimated him and his children. They were able to recover most of the land, which is still in their possession today.

"It is stories like these that need to be told," Scott-White said. "That's why the museum is so important."

Scott-White traveled with some of the attorneys who were looking for Black farmers to join the class-action lawsuit seeking reparation for similar damages suffered many others in the South to gather their stories and learn more about the widespread discriminatory practices used by government agencies who were supposed to be helping all farmers, regardless of race.

The lawsuit generated one of the largest civil rights settlements in U.S. history. Nearly $1 billion was awarded to more than 13,000 Black farmers with the 1999 settlement of Pigford v. Glickman. The second lawsuit was settled in 2010 for roughly $1.2 billion.

"Black people knew they were being mistreated," Scott-White said, "but there was no legal recourse. Even if you filed a complaint, you knew it wasn't going anywhere."

Scott-White said when government agents learned of the farmers' talks of filing a lawsuit, they took action.

"They sent people down here in the name of gathering information, but what they really did was came and got everybody's stories so they know how to fight you," she said.

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Determination, positive outlook fuels quest for museum

Scott-White said she has received 501c3 nonprofit status for the museum, which is still in the planning stages. She is working on developing the museum's website and deciding the best location — somewhere on her family land in Bolivar County.

The museum will be called the Delta Farmers Museum and Cultural Learning Center. Scott-White said she would like to see it on family property on U.S. 61, where it can be visible to passersby, but she also has a building in Mound Bayou that might be a suitable location.

Those decisions will be made as the plans are better developed, she said, which will be in the near future.

Scott-White was born and raised in Bolivar County, home to Mound Bayou, a town established by former slaves. She is a recently retired educator.

Now that she is retired, Scott-White said she has more time to devote to building the museum and securing funding for the project.

She is working on securing a network of supporters who are willing to help make the museum happen, which isn't always easy since there is still those who would want to sabotage her efforts, she said.

"They would say, 'Yeah, we're helping you,' then ultimately they're trying to make sure you are run out of business," Scott-White said.

However the road to the museum opening unfolds, Scott-White said like her father, she is determined to succeed despite the obstacles.

“If you put your hand and heart to anything you want to do, you can do it,” was her father's mantra, as told in the Mississippi Encyclopedia. And through all the challenges, Scott Jr. kept a positive attitude.

Scott-White's determination and upbeat outlook is equally unwavering.

"My dad never taught us to hate," she said. "He taught us to love and trust God. We're going to keep working towards opening the museum," she said. "We're not going to give up."

Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Museum for Black farmers coming soon to Mississippi Delta