Pigford and me

A year ago I knew virtually nothing of the plight of the Black farmer in this country, which certainly should not surprise anyone since I am a white female who is too far removed from racial discrimination. I learned of the injustices rather casually as I racked my brain figuring out to which research project I would contribute. Again, my introduction to the suffering and perennial discrimination came to me casually as I began working for Dr. Hinson as his graduate assistant where he passionately recounted stories from farmers he had interviewed just a year prior to my introduction. I began to read through voluminous transcripts of farmers from Georgia to Kansas, editing them for Dr. Hinson, and I gradually connected my heart to the stories of injustice, land loss, invisibility, and even stories of resiliency.

Dr. Hinson sent me to uncover articles about the Pigford Class Action Lawsuit of 1997, and I discovered for myself more blatant injustices through a bittersweet attempt to enact justice and equality. Ten years later the aftermath of Pigford still slowly trickles the waters of justice for some farmers while others are left waiting for their day to be heard. Particularly heartbreaking, frustrating, and confusing is the fact that 90% of Black farmers were excluded from the mitigation process of Pigford, and many who were included were told to find “similarly situated white farmers” to accumulate evidence building a case of discrimination in order to gain any reparations from the USDA. These examples from the Pigford case told me that justice is agonizingly slow and even discriminatory in this country, which for people like me is surprising and disheartening. For many others this is life. I pray a prayer of justice and hope, and I rejoice when those whose casual introductions to the plight of the Black farmer transforms into a passionate and compassionate pursuit of justice and advocacy in whatever ways that may arise.

Michelle Finley