Thursday, February 26, 2009

It Took Place Here.....

On these sacred grounds once walked.......Wiley, Ben, Jim, Pagan, Peter, Jake, Isaac, Ned, Madison, Little John, Big John, Reddick, Asa, Chester, Darb, Oliver, Dan, and Dennis, and thousands more. They were young, age 4 (?), age 8, or older (28 or 30). They are listed along with other property. They were human beings, yet they were bought and sold.

When I heard the pastor read their names at the welcome prior to lunch on Saturday, chill bumps ran up and down my spin. I was sitting on the very place where people by those names had once trod.

And so, it was on that holy ground that we met together for the 11th Annual Black Land Loss Summit Conference. It had once been a college and after that a place that has been transformative in the lives of people seeking after justice.
Prior to that, though, it was a place of violence, a place where slaves were brought and beaten into submission. A place that had once been about injustice now held a conference about justice.

The conference actually started the day before in Tillery. Who would want to forget about that historical place?

More to come.

Friday, February 20, 2009

11th National Black Land Loss Summit

The Summit is here. Charla and I find it interesting to land in North Carolina once more. We'll be seeing old friends and making new friends. This is not a "family reunion" per se, but some of the attendees are indeed like family. There's family in the blood and there's family in the spirit. Some are tighter than others. A righteous cause brings together like-minded people in an effort o make a difference in the world.

We joined this righteous cause in an unsuspecting way in the early '90s. The stories of African American farmers captured us then and hold us now. We all get it that most, though not all(maybe "some" would be a better word), of Jim Crow's racist policies have ended, the more subtle forms of racism remain prevalent. Not only are they prevalent but they are pervasive and cut to the quick day in and day out for people of our land.

This summit will be shifting the focus to the future of Black farmers and their livelihood. A shift toward the future is a good thing, but we must never forget the past, especially if the past lives on in the present. The signs of white privilege are all around us. It catches us and holds us, even when we attempt to deny it. When we unpack our "invisible nap sack," so to speak, we can make a difference in the world. Some call it "unconscious habit," something we've acquired via being seduced into believing certain things about ourselves, or assuming certain things about ourselves that go unquestioned.

My contribution to the Summit will be modest at best, minimal in all probability. However, the Summit's contribution to my life and work will be immense. It will continue to fuel the passion for justice that flows through my veins.

The Summit brings together like-minded people.

This weekend I will miss more than I can say those good people from Abilene Christian University who formed Social Justice Teams I, II, III, and IV. They will be here in spirit. I am indebted to them for the influence they had and continue to have on my life and this Righteous Cause.

Pray for this noble event and how it will influence things in these parts and around the country.

Friday, February 13, 2009

11th National Black Land Loss Summit

The Summit is around the corner.

Check out this link for details and for BFAA's new website.

Pray for this effort.

Hope to see you there.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

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 CafĂ©

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.