The Emancipation Proclamation was made effective as of January 1, 1863, freeing all slaves that resided in the States that were still in a state of rebellion, while later the critical Amendments of the 13th through 15th to the Constitution were ratified upon the conclusion of the War Between the States, prohibiting slavery throughout America, granting citizenship to all those born or naturalized in the United States, and granting the right to vote to all citizens of the United States. Of course, mere words, no matter how elegant and meaningful, have ever been enough to rectify pass practices or wrongs, nor was this the case in America, but these measures most definitely created new law, protecting and freeing citizens that until that time were often in a state of involuntary servitude or worse.
Because blacks were primarily utilized on plantations for the raising of crops such as cotton, corn, and rice, it was no great surprise that blacks developed then great skills and knowledge of how to work and to manage land effectively across America. Additionally, farming is an industry, that doesn't necessitate great scholastic skills, but instead favors those that are industrious, diligent, and dedicated to their craft. In truth, farming is an occupation that just having "book smarts" may not be of any great benefit in the practical application of the tasks needed to succeed on the field level, whereas "knowing" the land, its habits, its proclivities, and its feel is a specific knowledge held in a very high regard.
According to Black Farmers in America: "In 1920 black Americans made up 14 percent of all the farmers in the nation and worked 16 million acres of land," whereas today, " black farmers account for less than 1 percent of the nation’s farmers and cultivate fewer than 3 million acres of farmland." This is a modern-day tragedy, as farming has essentially reverted back to the province of an almost exclusively white male dominated industry, dominated not only by just whites, but dominated by massive agri-businesses on a unprecedented scale. While we can admire the great productivity and skills of our modern day farmers, and cropland producers, to which our output is the envy of the entire world, we must also hold our heads in shame that this is done at the expense of minorities, most notably blacks, but also those of Hispanic origin.
There are a significant amount of black grandparents in the south, or great-grandparents, that are able to tell stories of the land, crops, and/or livestock that they use to have on their family farms, but unfortunately their children's children typically aren't living on that same land or even able to really identify with the stories that their forefathers are still imparting in the twilight of their years. That would not necessarily be a tragedy if today's generation were far exceeding past generations by virtue of their income, their property ownership, and their status in their respective communities, but far too often the farm that was once in the black man's hands are owned, once again, by someone else, and the net proceeds from the sale of that land has been spent or extinguished with little or nothing to show for it.
Historically, the ownership of valuable farm and croplands has not been conducted on a level playing field. Additionally, the subsidies, considerations, connections, and political ties for croplands all favor the privileged class often at the expense of minorities. The lack of diversification in the ownership of our farmland translates to the reverting back to antebellum days, to which in those days the man that owned the income-producing property, owned the lion's share of the wealth, and well understood that he who owns the property is his own master.