Let Us Pray

Here it is in one more place, a moving prayer.

So, once more, let us pray.




Here's another link to this grand warrior in this righteous cause of Justice.

And, here is the text of the prayer.

If you want a good summary....

If you want a good summary of the issues that Black farmers have faced and are still facing, check out this article in Colorlines by Jessica Hoffman. It's a real story about real people facing real challenges.

Save the date! 11th Annual Black Land Loss Summit, Tillery and Whitakers, North Carolina, February 20-22, 2008. More information to come!

I Was There...

I was there...watching on television, actually two televisions, in a crowded room at the Health Care Authority, reciting the Lord's Prayer with others, marveling at the moment of the Oath of Office, and reveling in what this says about America. This was history in the making. Had been for a couple of years.

I was there...not in person but in spirit. Mall. DC.

I was there...during the days of the Jim Crow South, when the n-word dripped like slime from the lips of myself, friends, and family. When there were separate bathrooms, separate drinking fountains. When there were separate entrances to the small movie theater in town, just off Main. When the Klan was out and about but only in secrecy behind masks. When color of skin clearly defined where one lived, worked, worshipped.

I was there...when a father exclaimed, "No son of mine will ever go to school with no n*****!" When a father's black friend at work sat on the front porch and drank iced tea but never came in the house. When we'd feed the "hobo's" coming up and down the line.

I was there...when we "invited" our black brothers and sisters in Christ to a gospel meeting only to have them sit in the "colored" section of that little country church. That only after much debate.

I was there...when my friends called me "n*****-lover" because a black teacher believed in me and encouraged me to reach my potential. That at a time when he was a man without a people to whom to belong. Ostracized by the white community while he taught at the "white" and now integrated school, but not really fitting any more into his black community. A man driven, so I'm told to drink. He gave me the ingenuity award on several occasions. That I still value.

I was there...when the phone rang and the attorney on the other end of the line wanted me to consult with him on behalf of black farmers.

I was there...in Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and North Carolina. Listening to farmers' stories of discrimination.

I was there...when students said, "I want to study with you." Four teams were formed. All making different contributions.

I was there...when the tests and trials came from people who wondered why I'd want to be there. Got flipped off. Only white face for days on end. Tormented by what I saw and heard. Still am. To this day.

I was there...when the USDA and DOJ tormented those people. Tantalizing them with hopes of a settlement and justice.

I was there...at the tomb of fallen warriors. In the rain. Holding hands. Sharing hearts. Molded by a cause. A righteous cause.

I was there...at the Land Loss Summit. Telling USDA officials and others what systemic racism does to people. They seemed surprised. I wasn't surprised that they were surprised.

I was there...today in Tillery. Friend was snowed in. Texts flying back and forth. Sent the words, "thinking of you and those you love and the cause for which you lay down your very life." Said he had a towel to dry his tears. Mine were shed more last night than today. Today was one of awe. No, I wasn't there, but I was "there." Reveling in the moment with him. Curious and amazed at what this inaugural moment must mean for him. Yearning to look at things through his eyes. And her eyes in Florida. And his eyes in Georgia. Their eyes in Dawson. There are a lot of "hims" and "hers" in the world.

I was there...in OKC, only Lincoln Blvd., with a bunch of other people who care about making the world a better place. Their tears, shouts, and emotions showed that they were "there" as well.

I will be there...praying for President Obama, First Lady Michelle, and for the First Children, Malia and Shasha. For wisdom. For courage. Stamina. For things that matter to the Lord and to me. For justice to reign. For God's Kingdom to come and for His will to be done. For the economic crisis to end. For wars to end. For jobs. Equality. An end to ceilings. Racism. Hatred.

A Grandfather's Story on Martin Luther King Day

The day started average enough. We gathered our things, drove a few miles south and east and arrived at their house. The women worked inside on things that had to do with lunch. I've not asked what their conversation was about. On the outside, the men and the grandsons grilled domestic buffalo and venison from the fall's harvest. The wind blew, and we shivered as we talked about gameboys, imaginary things, and today's political scene.

Lunch was quite a spread. A wonderful grandson's prayer, nicely grilled food, and the extras were there. The conversation was lively and interesting as it always is at that house.

Then, we moved from the dining table to the living room, and I was told, "Read this book." I knew I was in trouble. The book, Martin's Big Words, was suddenly in my hand and a lump was in my throat. Grandparents sat on the couch with grandchildren sandwiched between us. Parents observed from an adjacent chair. I turned to the first page, began to read, and then the lump in throat and tears came, and the words, "I can't read this; here, you read it." Their grandmother read the book as the boys looked on. Afterwards, for a few moments, parents and grandparents chatted with the young about the man in the book.

Then, we shifted back to the dining room table for a wonderful experience of "I Have a Dream," complete with paper, crayons, a stapler that wouldn't work correctly, and words and ideas unleashed. For me, the dream was building with the help of God and many others that for which the Chickasaw Nation had brought me here. For my wife, these childrens' grandmother, the dream was about building a Christ-like home. We all completed our dreams project. Ours are hanging on the doors open into this study.

Then, the oldest grandson was dispatched to another room to bring back the speech, not just any speech, but the words of Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech from the March on Washington, 1963, words which have stirred me and countless other over the last forty-five years. The young lad sat there in his seat, just to my right, reading the words I've heard many times before. I'd never heard him read them. He's so young. He reads so well, and he's reading well, words spoken that day on the Mall in DC. The tears rolled once more. Afterwards, we talked more about tears and stories and justice, and other things about making the world a better place.

So, what started out to be an amazing day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., became an even more amazing day in one small corner of the universe. We discussed things of substance, told stories of significance, and amazed at the wisdom and creativity of the young.

Yes, Dr. King, I, too, have a dream, that someday my grandchildren's children and "little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers," and that all of God's children, every color dark or light, will know that they are loved and that their dreams can come true as well.

A Day to Remember, With Much to Be Done

Many of my friends are pausing to reflect today on where we are, where we've been, and where we must go as a Church, a People, and a Nation. Some of my friends are simply enjoying a day off. There are many who are choosing to make this a day of service.

These are moving times in which we live. Tomorrow we'll have a new president, a man who does not "look" like me or many of us, but a man who does indeed "look" like many of us. He is our president, and so I encourage us to pray mightily and boldly for him, the new First Lady, and the new First Children.

Here again are snippets of that marvelous and moving speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King. May it remind us of what this day is all about. May it stir us once more to eradicating racism in all of its forms and in all of its places and spaces.

Meet James Joseph

James Joseph has been working on the greening of America for a long, long time. In particular, his wish was to help Black farmers develop various means of making a living, one of which was to reduce the miles from the fields to the dining room.

He's done it and won an award for it.

There's much to say about his work.

Check out this page.

Check out this video.

Here's his web page.

I'd like to meet him some day.

Completely missed it

I completely missed what looks to be an important research piece in the disparities between white farmers and black farmers. Here is a summary paragraph or two from a CRS Report for Congress entitled, "The Pigford Case: USDA Settlement of a Discrimination Suite by Black Farmers," writtern by legislative attorney Stephen R. Vina, and Tadlock Cowan, Analyst in Rural and Regional Development Policy, updated December 6, 2005.

"USDA Commissioned Study. In 1994, the USDA commissioned D.J. Miller & Associates, an Atlanta consulting firm, to analyze the treatment of minorities and women in Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs and payments. The study examined conditions from 1990 to 1995 and looked primarily at crop payments and disaster payment programs and Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) loans. The final report found that from 1990 to 1995, minority participation in FSA programs was very low and minorities received less than their fair share of USDA money for crop payments, disaster payments, and loans. According to the commissioned study, few appeals were made by minority complainants because of the slowness of the process, the lack of confidence in the decision makers, the lack of knowledge about the rules, and the significant bureaucracy involved in the process. Other findings showed that (a) the largest USDA loans (top 1%) went to corporations (65%) and white male farmers (25%); (b) loans to black males averaged $4,000 (or 25%) less than those given to white males; (c) 97% of disaster payments went to white farmers, while less than l% went to black farmers. The study reported that the reasons for discrepancies in treatment between black and white farmers could not be easily determined due to “gross deficiencies” in USDA data collection and handling (p. 2)."

I am looking for the full report and am attempting to contact one of the authors. If anyone has it, please forward it to me.

Just Wanted to Say Thanks

Sometimes it's a good idea to pause and to say thanks to folks who've blessed your life. This post has been on my heart for some time, so now, here it is. These folks and their pages are over just to the right of this post. I'd encourage you to check them out as you have time.

Thanks to those amazing and gifted students from ACU who formed Social Justice Teams:

Team I: Sara, Laura, Jacob, Josh, Ashley, and Liz because you laid the foundation for all that has followed. That work with stories of women who are both African American and of Indian ancestry and African Americans reared in a white cultural context was excellent.

Team II: Kelsie, Josh, Bryanna, Tim, and David Todd because you walked in places and spaces that no one had walked before. Yes, I know we're still waiting for action from DOJ. Hopefully we'll not have to wait forever. And, your contribution at the conference in King of Prussia, PA was important and timely.

Team III: Michelle, Kimberly, Rebecca, Scott, Sarah, Brian, and Heather, your conceptual work and presentations in larger academic contexts was among the first for this work. Heather, I'd still like to see some of your amazing art work.

Team IV: Daniel, Ruqayyah, and Ty, your work in the area of white privilege which is coming up here in a few days at TAMFT will make a difference.

Abilene Christian University, the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy, and its founders, Paul Faulkner and Tom Milholland, along with amazing faculty, staff, and students, gave me the context to grow as a person, professional, and advocate for justice. It's the best MFT program in the country.

Big Country Family Therapy Associates, now owned by a loyal and faithful friend and co-worker, provided a context for serving struggling people. Dave in particular, his wife, and our Sunday morning Bible class provided another context in which to engage justice and the Word of God. They heard my stories, and they told their own. There's not a better therapist in Abilene than the man who's on the fifth floor of the Compass Bank Building, downtown Abilene.

Gary Grant, President, and the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association along with the Concerned Citizens of Tillery, provided the legitimacy that was foundational for engaging black farmers, hearing their stories, and telling them on these pages and in other contexts. Gary is a visionary, a man of principle and passion, and a man who has become a friend in this righteous struggle. Gary's engagement of Justice Team III and IV last year was an amazing thing to watch. His influence extends far beyond North Carolina.

Dionne, senior administrator of the Department of MFT at ACU, and entrepreneur, is a woman of immense talents who gave of her means to support traveling students on their way to a black land loss summit last year. Check her and her efforts out.

Greg Kendall-Ball, staff member in the Graduate School of Theology, ACU, and I have dreamed big dreams. He's a gifted photographer. Only funding is holding us back from making what we think will be an enormous contribution to the telling of the stories of black farmers of our land.

Larry James of Central Dallas Ministries and I crossed paths back in Memphis at the Harding Graduate School of Religion in the early '70s. His heart and his bright mind were evident then and now. His words on his blog are daily reads. He points people to the Kingdom and to justice in this world, two things that cannot be disconnected.

Micah P. Hinson is a young singer/songwriter who has caught the vision of the plight of the black farmer. One who has always had a heart oriented toward the disenfranchised, he and I have collaborated on a song about black farmers. Only funding is keeping this effort from becoming a "proper release," a video, and the making of the video, a venture that will also engage the choir from Tillery, NC. This and the photojournalism effort would be firsts and would tell the story in contexts not utilized before. There's another effort that deserves to be heard, one co-authored musically and lyrically by Ben Clinard, student at ACU/MFT.

John Boyd president of the National Black Farmers Association and I crossed paths in Memphis in January, 2006. His proximity to DC allows him to operate on large political stage. His efforts in spotlighting the plight of the black farmer are important contributions to this righteous cause.

Dr. Spencer Wood, sociology professor at Kansas State University, and I first met via email around some pivotal things he'd written about black land loss. Then, last year at the 10th Annual Black Land Loss Summit, Tillery and Whitakers, NC, we met face to face. He is a good man who is making significant contributions to this cause. He's a leader and I am simply a follower.

Vern Switzer, or "The Watermelon Man," has an amazing story. He, too, was a farmer who was involved in the Pigford Class Action Suit, and while still farming, he has now begun to reach out via books and stories to engage children and farming. He is a great story teller who can keep elementary students' attention for an hour at a time.

There are more. We need more. Racism and discrimination are not going to go away any time soon. Listen to our daily conversations. Tune in to what others are saying, and how folks are treating others, and it's there.

There's much to be done. Who are the activists that you know? What are their links, their contexts, their efforts?

Out with 2008; In with 2009

So, what actually happened with the good people who have been a part of this venture over the last twelve months. Until justice comes in all of its boldness, there is always room to do more; on the other hand, I think we are only called upon to do what we can do in our own small corners of the universe. I think there will forever be this restlessness within me until Jesus comes in all of His glory. Until then, we'll just do the best we can.

In February, we traveled to Tillery and Whitakers, NC to take part in the 10th Annual Black Land Loss Summit Conference sponsored by the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association.
At that conference Justice Teams III and IV met movers and shakers in the Black farmer movement as well as some key officials in the USDA, some of whom had their names in the papers not long afterwards. Interesting for us all. Posts from February and March of this year on this blog will give you pictures, memorable moments, and memorable quotes from that amazing trip. That one is etched forever in my head and heart.

In the Spring, Justice Team III members spoke at the annual conference of the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. This link summarizes that important presentation.

We continued to collaborate with various advocates around the country, some writing articles and some writing books. All of which, we pray, will be used to tell the story of Black farmers in new places and spaces.

During the Spring, Summer, and Fall, Justice Team III lobbied with a variety of congress persons and presidential candidates on behalf of the Black farmer and family. We mailed letters and sent emails to a lot of offices, and, we even got some responses back.

Justice Team III ventured out a bit into the world of white farmers, interviewing a few and comparing and contrasting the lived experiences of white farmers versus black farmers. Were there differences. No doubt about it.

In the Spring, we recruited Justice Team IV, and those good people began to meet to formulate ideas around the notion of white privilege and how it impacts the lives of people of color, especially Black farmers.

We were able to publish a piece in a refereed journal that chronicles the larger sociopolitical historical background of the Black farmer. That was a labor of love with a competent ACU professor.

In the November, current and former students from Teams II, III and IV presented a poster at the national conference of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy in Memphis, Tennessee. A great visual was created with the assistance of professionals from the Chickasaw Nation as we attempted to compare and contrast what we called "community narratives" of Black farmers and Chickasaw Nation citizens.

In the fall, members of Justice Team IV traveled from Abilene, TX to Ada, OK to prepare for the AAMFT poster presentation. What a grand time that was.

Justice Team IV members are now preparing for a three hour workshop at the 2009 annual conference of the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

There were some wonderful times of collaboration between us and two talented musicians and one talented photojournalist. Those labors have yet to come to fruition, but I'll comment more on them in the next post. All we need there is funding to bring those efforts out into the public eye. I think they are worthy efforts because they use the gifts of quality people, telling the stories of Black farmers via photographs and music.

So, is this a time for boasting? Of course not. What in the world would we be boasting about?

Is time a time to evaluate and dream and scheme for 2009. Of course. There's always room for planning, praying, and humbling ourselves before God's mighty hand for His direction and guidance.

That's my prayer for our meager efforts for 2009.