The Agriculture Department said that it has redressed decades of historic race- and sex-based discrimination and will no longer be considering that legacy in its grants, loans and other programs.
The change announced in a final rule Thursday is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to remove references to diversity, equity and inclusion from federal policy and eliminate federal initiatives intended to address discrimination.
Under the new rule, USDA will “no longer employ the race- and sex-based ‘socially disadvantaged’ designation to provide increased benefits based on race and sex” in programs such as its farm loans and conservation incentive programs. USDA concluded “that past discrimination has been sufficiently addressed and that further race- and sex-based remedies are no longer necessary or legally justified under current circumstances.”
Congress defined “socially disadvantaged” to include African Americans, Hispanics and other minority groups for USDA programs as early as 1990 and again in more recent farm bills.
