11th National Black Land Loss Summit

11th National Black Land Loss Summit

February 20-22, 2009

Tillery and Franklinton Center at Bricks, NC

Theme: A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

WHY A SUMMIT?

Prior to the now historic class action lawsuit brought by black farmers, Tim Pigford vs. Glickman, Secretary of USDA, African Americans had been losing nearly 9,000 acres of land per week for years. Yet, between the end of slavery and 1920, African Americans showed an impressive capacity for excellence by establishing nearly one million farms on approximately fifteen million acres. Since then, however, our farms and owned farmland have declined precipitously. Farm numbers have declined by roughly 98 percent and our owned farm acres have decreased by over 50 percent. Even recently, our farm numbers have continued to decline. Between 1982 and 1997 alone, the number of black-operated farms nationwide fell nearly 45 percent, while many southern states saw a decline of over 50 percent. In North Carolina, the home of the lead plaintiff in the Pigford case, black farms declined by a staggering 66 percent during the 1980s and 1990s. Today, new methods of counting small and disadvantaged farms make direct comparisons since 1997 difficult and should be viewed with caution. For those of us on the ground, things do not seem dramatically better. To add insult to injury, many rural southern communities endure environmental degradation, health risks and loss of economic vitality as part of nationwide environmental injustice and racism. This injustice is worsened by the loss of farmland and control of our communities. A national Black Land Loss Summit is an opportunity to jointly craft and rework our focus, perhaps returning to our original concerns about fairness and health in the countryside, in this post-Pigford era.

DISCRIMINATION and the USDA

The Pigford v. Glickman Consent Decree has failed miserably and the struggle for survival has become more crucial. In April 2009, it will have been eleven years since the Pigford Consent Decree was declared "a fair, adequate and reasonable settlement of the claims brought in the case" by Judge Paul Freidman, and yet so little progress has been made for black farmers.

PROPOSED AGENDA

FRIDAY – February 20, 2009

2:00pm – Registration Opens – Tillery Community Center, Tillery, NC

3:00 – BFAA Board Meets

Select a recommended slate of officers
Vision and Mission Statements
Transition from Pigford Education and Advocacy
Black Family Farmers ARE Middle Class

Research

Family farms vs. industrial operations
Local food vs. corporate
Health & community vs. greed
BFAA as leadership in the Black farm movement
Partnering with Agriculturalists
Commitment to the organization
Going from chapters to state representatives
Plan of Action
One or two primary agenda items for the year
Relationship with other organization
What organizations do we want to partner with
Establishing BFAA with International Land Groups
Other items

5:30 – Dinner – The Resettlement Café

7:00 – Head to Franklinton Center for the nights stay

SATURDAY – February 21, 2009

8:00am Breakfast

9:00 Workshop – Bio Mass

10:00 Break

10:15 Workshop – Risk Management

11:30 Local Foods – Dorothy Barker, Spring Plant (Invited)

12:30 Lunch

2:00 White Privilege and the Costs to African American Farmers -
Waymon Hinson, PhD

3:00 Workshop – Farm Bill 2008 – Lloyd Wright and Quintin Robinson

4:30pm Continue BFAA Board Meeting

Vote on Board Officers
Action Items for 2009

5:00pm Adjourn

Contact BFAA for more information including registration fees, registration, locations, etc.