In 1997, Black farmers filed a lawsuit accusing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) of discriminatory practices that led to land loss, farm closures, and foreclosures. The National Black Farmers Association (NBFA), founded by John Boyd, Jr., led the effort. A consent decree identified 22,363 Black farmers who had faced discrimination. The initial settlement, valued at $1.06 billion, included cash relief, tax payments, and debt relief, making it one of the largest civil rights class-action settlements in U.S. history. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed a law providing an additional $1.15 billion to compensate farmers excluded from the original settlement.