Pigford, Timothy
20th century- · Contribution: 1997-1999
Farmer & Lead Plaintiff
Lead plaintiff in Pigford v. Glickman, the 1999 class action settlement against the USDA that became, at the time, the largest civil rights settlement in American history, ultimately paying or crediting nearly $1 billion to Black farmers discriminated against in federal farm lending
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 20th century
- Active since
- 1997
- Category
- Agriculture & Food
- Best known for
- Pigford v. GlickmanLargest civil-rights settlement of its time\~\$1 billion to Black farmers
Impact on the world
Pigford's individual claim became the vehicle for holding the federal government accountable to a generation of Black farmers. The settlement bearing his name reshaped USDA civil-rights practice.
Sources
- Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
4 more sources and references are available to members.
Related visionaries
Boyd, John Jr.
1965-
Founded the National Black Farmers Association; agricultural policy advocacy
Sherrod, Shirley (Miller)
1947-
Co-founded New Communities, Inc. in 1969, the first formal community land trust in the United States and, at 6,000 acres, one of the largest Black-owned tracts of land in the country; became a central figure in the Pigford v. Glickman settlement, already profiled in this collection, and was forced to resign a federal post in 2010 after a selectively edited video clip falsely portrayed her as admitting racial bias, before officials reviewed the full speech and publicly apologized
Paige, Ralph McDaniel
1943-2018
Led the Federation of Southern Cooperatives for 46 years, personally obtaining the Freedom of Information Act documents that built the legal foundation for Pigford v. Glickman, already profiled in this collection; grew the organization from 22 to 75 cooperatives while building 18 community credit unions