Tracing the Legacy: Black Farmers and the Fight for Equity

Dr. Jewel Bronaugh currently serves as President and CEO of the 1890 Universities Foundation. She is the second President and CEO in the Foundation’s history. In 2021, Dr. Bronaugh was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as the 14 th U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture. She was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 13, 2021, and assumed office on May 17, 2021. She is the first Black woman to serve in this position.

In 2018, Dr. Bronaugh was appointed by Governor Ralph Northam to serve as the 16th Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In 2019, she served as the Virginia State Executive Director for the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). Prior to her FSA appointment, Dr. Bronaugh was the Dean of the College of Agriculture at Virginia State University (VSU) where she oversaw Extension, Research, and Academic Programs, and served as the Associate Administrator for Extension Programs. She was also a 4-H Extension Specialist.

In 2019, Dr. Bronaugh helped launch the Virginia Farmer Stress Task Force initiative to raise awareness and help assist farmers and ranchers in times of stress. In 2020, Dr. Bronaugh helped establish the Virginia Food Access Investment Fund Program, the first statewide program of its kind aimed at strengthening local food systems by investing in projects that improve access to fresh foods in historically marginalized communities.

Dr. Bronaugh received her Ph.D. in Career and Technical Education from Virginia Tech. She has dedicated her career to service and promoting youth leadership in agriculture. Originally from Petersburg, Virginia, Dr. Bronaugh is married to Cleavon, a retired U.S. Army Veteran.

Seanicaa Edwards Herron is a respected agricultural economist and market analyst with an impressive 20-year career trajectory across academia, the private sector, government and nonprofit roles. At the helm of the Freedmen Heirs Foundation Inc., which she co-founded, Seanicaa is actively forging paths to dismantle systemic barriers faced by Black farmers in U.S. agriculture. This vital nonprofit organization focuses on bridging the widening gap between Black farmers and the marketplace, aiming to eradicate agricultural inequities by facilitating access to technical assistance, capital resources, and new market opportunities.

Seanicaa earned both her Bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness and a Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Mississippi State University, further solidifying her profound commitment to advancing the field of agriculture. 

P.J. Haynie is a fifth-generation row crop farmer based out of Virginia with a satellite operation in Arkansas. While in high school, he served as vice president of his Future Farmers of America chapter and actively worked on his family farm in Reedville, Va. P.J. graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics in May 1999. While attending Virginia Tech, he served as president of the Virginia Tech MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources and Related Sciences) chapter. During his senior year at Virginia Tech, P.J. was initiated into Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated.

After graduating from Virginia Tech, he chose to pursue his childhood dream and continue the family tradition of farming. For his achievements in farming, Haynie was named a Top Producer of the Year Finalist in 2024. He currently serves as Chairman of the National Black Growers’ Council.