Georgia Democratic U.S. Rep. David Scott—the first Black man to chair the House Agriculture Committee—has passed away at 80 after nearly five decades in public office. His legacy is bigger than tenure. Scott held one of the most influential seats shaping how capital, land, and federal resources flow—especially across agriculture, food systems, and rural economies. For Black communities that have historically been locked out of these systems, that level of representation mattered. At a moment when climate, food security, and infrastructure are driving the next wave of innovation and investment, leadership in spaces like the Agriculture Committee isn’t symbolic—it’s structural. Scott had already filed to run for a 13th term this year, even as a new generation of challengers emerged—underscoring how critical and competitive these positions have become. Rest in power to a leader who understood that access to policy is access to opportunity.