Black farmers worry new approach on 'race neutral' lending leaves them in the shadows

Lateef Dowdell watches the sunrise from what remains of land once belonging to his uncle Gil Alexander, who was the last active Black farmer in the community of Nicodemus, Kan., Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

Farmers of color across the country, who'd been promised debt cancelation as part of a special program to address racial disparity in lending, rejoiced when they received letters in 2021 in the mail that said their loans with the Agriculture Department would be canceled.

And then, for over a year, there was nothing.