** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HISTORICAL DISCRIMINATORY POLICIES AND PRESENT-DAY PERSISTENT RURAL POVERTY. UNDERSTANDING THIS CONNECTION IS FOUNDATIONAL TO CRAFTING EFFECTIVE PRESENT-DAY RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY THAT WOULD UNDUE THESE LEGACY EFFECTS. THIS SEED GRANT WILL COLLECT AND LONGITUDINALLY LINK DATA IN PREPARATION FOR APPLYING FOR A FUTURE STANDARD GRANT SUBMISSION FROM AFRI. CONSISTENT WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF SEED GRANTS, THIS WORK WILL THUS NOT FUND A STAND-ALONE PROJECT, BUT RATHER A PROJECT THAT WILL LEAD TO FURTHER WORK APPLICABLE TO THE RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AFRI PROGRAM AREA. SPECIFICALLY, THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF THIS SEED GRANT IS TO SPUR RURAL ECONOMIC GROWTH BY DEVELOPING A DATA FOUNDATION FOR RESEARCH-BASED KNOWLEDGE OF, AND THEREBY SUPPORT FOR, RURAL ECONOMIC GROWTH, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO MINORITIZED ETHNIC AND/OR RACIAL AND GENDER GROUPS. NEW, RESEARCHER-CONSTRUCTED DATASETS WILL BE FREELY RELEASED TO THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY TO FURTHER RESEARCH INTO OUTCOMES FOR MINORITIZED POPULATIONS IN RURAL AREAS.TO DEVELOP SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS FROM INITIAL DATA TO BE ANSWERED THROUGH THE SUBMISSION OF A STANDARD GRANT PROJECT, THIS SEED GRANT WILL PROCEED IN THREE STEPS: (1) ENHANCE THE DOCUMENTATION OF THE HISTORICAL ADMINISTRATIVE BEHAVIOR OF FMHA AND FCA BY INVESTIGATING AND DIGITIZING RECORDS AT THE U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (NARA); (2) WEB-SCRAPE PUBLIC ONLINE HISTORICAL RECORDS TO DEVELOP A DATASET OF THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF FMHA AND FCA LOANS; (3) DEVELOP INTERGENERATIONAL (AND LONGITUDINAL) LINKAGES USING RESTRICTED-ACCESS MICRODATA FROM MULTIPLE FEDERAL AGENCIES.