What are black farmers settlement checks?

Black farmer settlement checks were sent to approximately 18,000 black farmers in October 2013 as a result of a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture. The checks were in the amount of $62,500.

Thousands of black farmers were denied loans and other types of assistance by federal officials because of their race, sparking a class-action lawsuit against the government for discrimination in 1997. A first round of payments were sent to farmers in 1999. In 2010, President Obama signed a bill that compensated the black farmers for this discrimination. Around 4,500 of these farmers had died, however, and their payments were made to their estates.