Reaffirming the NAACP’s Commitment to Address the Problem of African- American Land Loss

WHEREAS, the Agricultural Economics and Land Ownership Survey shows that the amount of farmland owned by African-Americans has declined by half, to about 7 million acres, since 1920, while White ownership has remained constant; and

WHEREAS, according to the 1997 U.S. Census of Agriculture between 1920 and 1997 there was a 98 percent decrease in the number of African-American farmers; and

WHEREAS, according to U.S. Agriculture Census, African-American farm ownership peaked at 15 million acres in 1910 and declined to 2.4 million acres in 1997; and

WHEREAS, according to the 1999 Agricultural Economics and Land Ownership Survey African-Americans own less than 1% of all privately owned rural land; and

WHEREAS, according to the Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund, heir property ownership problems, estate planning problems, tax sale, partition sale, voluntary sales and lack of legal counsel are some of the common causes of African-American land loss; and

WHEREAS, the subprime mortgage crisis is a cause of African-American land loss; and

WHEREAS, according to a Center for Responsible Lending report, African-Americans are more likely to receive higher-rate home purchase and refinance loans than similarly situated white borrowers; and

WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report titled Unequal Burden as cited in the NAACP's report Discrimination and Mortgage Lending, even when income and credit risks are equal, African-Americans are up to 34 percent more likely to receive higher-rate and subprime loans with a prepayment penalty than their similarly situated counterparts; and

WHEREAS, according to another Center for Responsible Lending report, an estimated 8 to 10 percent of all African-Americans and Latino families who received a home loan in 2005 will be affected by subprime foreclosures; and

WHEREAS, due to such discriminatory lending practices, according to the Center for Responsible Lending as stated in the NAACP's report Discrimination and Mortgage Lending, at least one million African-Americans and other minorities are at great risk of losing wealth, approximately $164 billion.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP reaffirms its 2005 Anti-predatory Mortgage & Payday Lending Practices and 2002 Policy on Predatory and Payday Lending Practices resolutions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP reaffirms its 1979 and 1981 Black Land Loss resolutions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National NAACP Office, in conjunction with the NAACP Housing Committee, shall develop an effective Housing Program to address issues such as Black Land Loss, the subprime mortgage crisis and fair housing; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP will urge USDA to provide more support and funding for research, education and extension activities geared to the needs of black family-sized farmers, instead of simply catering to the needs of large farmers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP will urge the USDA to fully implement the recommendations of the 1997 USDA Civil Rights Action Team Report and 1998 National Commission on Small Farms ―A Time to Act Report‖; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP will urge the USDA to provide more concentrated outreach, education, and technical assistance for African-American and other disadvantaged farmers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP will urge Congress to enact the legislation to protect Americans from predatory lending such as the Home Ownership Bill (Senate Bill 2452) and the Foreclosure Prevention and Sound Mortgage Servicing Act (H.R. 5679); and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP will urge Congress to establish a nine month moratorium on foreclosures.