Rural Electrification Administration Bypasses Black Farms in South

The Rural Electrification Administration, created 1935 to bring electricity to rural America, is administered through local cooperatives that systematically exclude Black farmers and Black-owned farms from electrification. By 1945, most white rural homes in the South have electricity while most Black farm households do not. The disparity affects farming productivity, household conditions, and children's ability to study at night. Federal infrastructure investment, like highway and housing policy, channels benefits to white Americans while bypassing Black families.