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.

Dear President Elect Obama

The Honorable Barack Obama
President-Elect, United States of America
Chicago, IL

Dear Mr. Obama:

Congratulations on your recent resounding victory in the presidential campaign. The people of America, young and old, black and white, rich and poor, male and female, have heard your theme of change.

Most of America is sitting and watching your appointments. While some are saying that it looks like President Clinton all over again, as you commented on national television in recent weeks, the real difference is in who is leading. So, my prayers continue to be with you, Mr. Obama.

My concerns are certainly with the economy and the war. More specifically, however, I am concerned about what has been going on historically in the United States Department of Agriculture. Much has been written on these and other pages, in the media of various forms, as to the "good old boy" circumstances and policies by which the USDA is run. My wish is that the Honorable Tom Vilsack will prove to be a worthy nomination as Secretary, USDA. Much is to be done in terms of the Farm Bill, renewable energy, small family farms, and other issues. While he is not without controversy, he also has his supporters.

Even more to the point, Mr. Obama, is that you charge Secretary Vilsack with adjudicating the massive number of civil rights complaints within the USDA. Congress did a notable thing a while back in agreeing that late claimants to the Pigford Suit could reapply for possible financial considerations, but the amount of money set aside is embarrassingly low. Please reconsider that sum of money that would go to black farmers of our land who have been mistreated by the USDA.

I would also encourage you, Mr. Obama, to appoint some people who could see that state and federal USDA offices function in a nondiscriminatory manner. While the law is color blind, people are not, and unfortunately, over the years, too many government employees and state and local officials have made decisions based on the color of a person's skin rather than on merit. I specifically recommend for your consideration Gary Grant, President of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, as a man of principle who has a keen grasp on the circumstances surrounding the plight of the black farmer. He could serve you well in Washington or within a state FSA office. Secondly, I would recommend for the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights within the USDA position another man of principle, a man who has indeed served in that position before, Mr. Lloyd Wright. He knows Washington, he knows farmer issues, and he has an excellent record with the USDA Office of Civil Rights. He's stayed involved in farming and related issues since his departure from office.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of these matters.

The people of our great land are praying for you, your wife, and your children.

Respectfully,

Waymon R. Hinson, Ph.D.
Activist

Merry Christmas, May Peace and Justice Reign

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. -- Isaiah 9:6-8

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. -- Micah 5:2

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. -- Isaiah 7:14

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. -- Luke 2:6,7

Time to read

Here are some of the books on my to-read list:

Black on White: Black Writers on What It Means to Be White (1998), edited by David R. Roediger

White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism (2005), Paula S. Rothenberg

Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race (2006), Frances E. Kendall

Invisible Men: Life in Baseball's Negro Leagues (1983), Donn Rogosin

Blackout: The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson's First Spring Training (2004), Chris Lamb

I can feel the holidays coming. Time to read.

What's on your book list? Let me know.