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Black Farmers Continue To Fight Against USDA For Their Rights
July 1st, 2008
Msladydeborah at FROM MY BROWN EYED VIEW has made the call for us to shed some light on the plight of Black Farmers and their battle with the government.
This is not an issue that I’ve followed for the last couple of years or so; but I can always at least put up a post in support of others good efforts.
I remember when I first started writing on ithis issue at message boards way back when at the same time Robert Mugabe started giving farm land to Black Zimbabweans; because I remember making the point that the American media was wringing its hands for white farmers in Zimbabwe, but had little concern for Black farmers here at home. Both these issues where in the news at the same time.
Coincidentally Mugabe just swore himself back in as president this weekend. This reveals how unfortunately many of the same things remain unresolved over time; but also reminds us that fights for social justice are long-term fights, not one time events or short individual campaigns.
Here’s a partial reproduction of MsLyadydeborah’s post:
Black Farmers Lawsuit Against USDA
The National Black Farmers Association(NBFA) filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture on June 3, 2008 on behalf of farmers who were discriminated against in its allocation of resources. source
In this historic civil rights case, known as Pigford v. Veneman, USDA promised to pay billions to African American farmers who claimed that the USDA had systematically discriminated against them for decades, denying them access to essential crop loans that were made readily available to “similarly situated” white farmers in their communities. The settlement was largely based on USDA’s own admission of discrimination in its 1997 civil rights study, and the Reagan Administration elimination of the USDA’s Office of Civil Rights in 1983, effectively denying African American farmers any recourse for claims of discrimination from 1983 through 1996, when the Office was reestablished. In part due to lack of equal access to USDA loans, the number of farms operated by African Americans has declined dramatically over the past 20 years, plummeting from 54,367 in 1982 to just 29,090 in 2002. source.
USDA PLAYS THE BLAME GAME
Instead of taking responsibility for the failures of the out-of-court settlement with African American farmers for racial discrimination in its loan and subsidy programs arising from the Pigford v. Veneman case, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has attempted to deflect attention from its wrongdoings by blaming the settlement’s shortcomings on the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the private entities it hired to run the program. In response to a renewed public interest in the progress of the settlement, and in defending a second racial discrimination class action, USDA has claimed that the private monitors are solely responsible for the settlement’s surprisingly high denial rates, and that DOJ is preventing USDA from addressing any of the settlement’s problems. USDA’s response is disappointing and disingenuous. In fact, USDA has spent at least $12 million dollars challenging successful settlement claims. USDA was responsible for the behavior that led to the settlement, and has the duty to ensure that the settlement fairly compensates African American farmers for their resulting losses. source
DISMANTLING OF USDA CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE HAD IMPACT ON BLACK FARMERS CLAIMS
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posted in News & Events, Racial Injustice | | | View blog reactions | Print This Post
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4 Responses to “Black Farmers Continue To Fight Against USDA For Their Rights”
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Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.
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Thanks Yobachi,
I feel that it is important that we know what is happening here with black farmers. I appreciate you making light of their battle with USDA!
No problem. I’m glad to help spead the word.
Plus it gave me something to post that I didn’t have to spend a lot of time writing and researching since I’m so busy this week.
Hey there Yobachi!
Thank you so much for blowing the trumpet about this issue!!
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
Lisa, thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.