Challenging the silence

It was nearly midnight when my friend signed online and sent me an instant message. The conversation began just like many others we have had in the past. A polite and casual “What are you up to?” followed by my typical and mundane reply, “Not too much.” I thought for a moment as my fingers rested on the computer keyboard and I stared at the words I had just typed. The irony of my own words made me chuckle.

I clicked back onto the online article I had just been reading: “…USDA employees lobbying against Black Farmers…” It was almost too infuriating to believe. The injustice of it all…the outright discrimination…the lack of voices speaking out against the racism…the lives that are being damaged by the silence of those with power…

And there were my words. My silence. What was I doing? “Not too much.”

“Actually,” I said to my friend, “I am reading about the injustices that have been done to Black farmers.”

I could feel the confusion emanating from my friend hundreds of miles away as he read the words for the first time. “Why in the world are you doing that?”

I spent several minutes explaining how year after year land continues to be wrongfully taken out of the hands of black farmers and placed into the hands of white farmers; how the USDA has withheld financial support from black farmers that it does not withhold from white farmers; how people’s lives and families are being shattered by prejudice and discrimination that still exists within the USDA.

His response was disheartening, but yet, unfortunately, not unexpected. He resisted the idea that discrimination could actually occur in today’s world, with such awareness and sensitivity to racism. His first reaction was to deny and to look for plausible explanations. I understand his reaction. It feels better to believe that we have won this battle. But the truth is - we still have a long way to go.

I learned a good lesson from our conversation. I learned that I have a part to play in this battle, however small that part may be. My part is to challenge the silence about this problem, to start a discourse with others who deny unfairness, and to encourage others with a heart for justice to do the same.

Sarah Hugman