Yes, It Fits

Class was lively and engaging this morning. We discussed theory, therapy, and the application of various theories to larger contexts and institutions of power and privilege that impact the lives of people. Then, there is sports talk radio and tv, talking about the same thing.

The same thing? Yes, the same thing. Two universities, one of them my alma mater, the University of Mississippi, and Texas A & M, both quickly hired new coaches, apparently without considering minority candidates. At a time when somewhere close of 55% is the make up of African American football players on our nation's 119 or so university football teams, only 6 universities have hired Black coaches. The National Black Coaches Association is up in arms. Rightfully so.

The NFL has the "Rooney Rule" which says that a team must interview a minority candidate for each head coach position to be filled. It's been called a "dog and pony show," one that is disingenuous, but some say that it ultimately works for Black coaches down the line.

I think it's time for the NCAA to institute a similar requirement.

I also think it's time to move beyond dog and pony shows toward interviews and decisions that are substantive and respectful of all of God's children, every color dark or light, so the song lyrics go.

Not as Easy as it Seems

If you'll hit the links over on the right side of the page, you can go to the summaries of what Social Justice Teams I, II, and III have done or are doing. Writing about them this morning has been an interesting experience. There were obvious flashbacks of a pleasant sort to locations, times, and spaces at which or during which their lives and passions for justice intersected with mine. These people, presentations, and travels take up at least a major segment of an emotional and relational flash drive within me. They walked out, got busy, traveled, wrote, presented, and discussed these important matters with others.

How does a prof capture the essence of a team and its work in a few words? Not only is it not as easy as it seems, but it is an impossibility.

I think you'll be hearing more about these people in the days ahead.

The world is a better place because they live in it.

"Give Us Grace"

"Give us grace, O God, to dare to do the deed which we well know cries out to be done. Let us not hesitate because of ease, or the words of men's mouths, or our own lives. Mighty causes are calling us--the freeing of women, the training of children, the putting down of hate and murder and poverty--all these and more. But they call with voices that mean work and sacrifice and death. Mercifully grant us, O God, the spirit of Esther, that we say: I will go unto the King and if I perish, I perish--Amen."


A prayer of W. E. B. Du Bois from Conversations with God: Two centuries of prayers by African Americans by Dr. James Melvin Washington.

Thanks, Lord

Lord,

Today's one of those amazing days, and I stop to reflect on the blessings you've given to me and those I love. So, today, I'm thankful for those right in front of me: my wife, sons, daughter in law, grandsons. For things going on outside of this warm house: gentle snowfall, snow-covered yard, the neighborhood, the university where I work, the department in which my work is housed, and city in which we live.

The meal today was amazing, offered by your hand and put together by my wife and our daughter in law. Stories around the table were inspiring and full of joy and laughter. The wonder of children in the snow, throwing snowballs at the elderly was fun.

And, today, I'm thankful, Lord, for the people to whom my students and I have been introduced around the country, for people who have moved beyond acquaintances to comrades in the righteous cause of Black farmers, for the Monicas, Garys, Harrys, Dennises, Willies, and Montes of this land.

And, I'm thankful for opportunities to serve people in your name. Those students who've walked alongside me in these efforts, Team I, Team II, and Team III, thanks for allowing our paths to cross, and thanks especially for their willingness to work as advocates in their chosen areas of life around the country.

I'm aware also, Father, that it is the power of the evil one and the dark side of human nature that offer us these opportunities to serve. Eradicate from our land, from our world, and from our hearts, O God, all vestiges of racism. Remove from the institutions of our government even the smallest of glimpses of discrimination. Empower us, O Holy One of Israel, to rise up and speak against things that harm individuals, couples, families, and communities.

Restore us all to wholeness and to right standing with you. Empower us to speak for the powerless, advocate for those who are in need, and lift us all up as your people to serve your people.

May your Kingdom come and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Politics and Farming, Black and White

Is it possible that the farming issue, and that of Black farmers in particular, will influence the presidential debates and outcome over the next few months?

Already, Obama has thrown down the gauntlet.

And, Hillary has drawn her line in the sand, at least in terms of getting the farm bill passed.

Who on the Republican side is willing to do the same, not just for the farm bill but for African American farmers besides Chabot from Ohio?

Just wondering.

Not Any Ordinary Day

We should have known from the start. An unseasonably warm Wednesday turned into a cold and windy Thursday. At the campus police office we were informed as to where the corner of East Main and Martin Luther King Boulevard was located. Then, we figured out that the "Third Thursday Thing" was being held out at KSU's Research Farm, some seven miles away.

Then it all became clear. We had been given permission to march in a location far, far from where the farmers were meeting. OK. I get it.

Despite the weather, some of us made our way out to the farm, and actually attended some of the listening sessions. Key leaders in agriculture from KSU and the state of Kentucky were there, along with a large number of Black farmers and a few White farmers. On the third day of a Kentucky Small Farmers Conference, we were interlopers. We were not invited, but we had attended.

A part of our group was removed with a police escort to the entrance to the farm while some of the rest of us had lunch inside with the farmers. That was an enjoyable occasion, chatting with Black farmers who surely wondered why we were there. We simply moved about, introducing ourselves and asking about the state of the Black farmer in Kentucky. Some seemed genuinely interested in the interest that we showed. The three of us were oblivious as to what was happening outside.

After a brief time at the entrance to the farm, we adjourned to a restaurant in Frankfort to consider strategy and next steps. It was an enlightening afternoon with Mr. Young, his brother, and a variety of other activists. His story needs to be told. People need to hear his story. His story deserves some action from some people who have the power to make things happen.

I'm still curious as to how we were not invited to leave, how it was that we got to stay and eat chicken and dumplings, and turkey and dumplings, and vegetables, and how we got to enjoy those conversations.

A Man, Mission, Family, and Farm

He is an intense man, a person of deep passion, resolve, and commitment. He moves with energy. He talks fast, thinks fast, multi-tasks with the best of them. He wears a lot of hats, and he leads a multitude of people and institutions. Environmental issues, elderly health care, and, of course, the survival of the Black farmer crowd his plate.

He sits across the desk from me. If his desk is an indication of how complicated his life is, then it pretty much speaks for itself. He leads an organization of Black farmers, has spoken before various subcommittee hearings, and has written more letters and spoken to more politicians and people of influence than anyone can count. If you want to see his face, he's the middle of the three men in the picture at the top of this blog. If you want to see his family, go back to the wreath-laying ceremony blog.

Today, though, when he lays aside all other hats, he's concerned about his family farm. Naturally so. Though his heart is with the larger movement of the survival of the Black farm and family, he is fighting to hold on to the land he was raised on, land which brought in the money that educated him and his siblings, so I must give him a wide space within which to speak his mind. And, speak his mind he does. He's quick witted and laughs easily, worries perpetually, and gives his very life and soul to the causes that are most important to him. So, when he challenges my naive assumptions, I listen. When he corrects my terminology, I listen. When he points out the way things are, I listen. He is the teacher; I am the student.

His family is fighting to hold on to their land. Here's their story in brief.

His parents, Florenza and Matthew Grant, moved from Virginia to Tillery, North Carolina in 1947 as part of the "New Deal Settlement Settlement" project. The Whites got the best land, and the Blacks the worst land. Still, they made it work, until, of course, natural disasters hit, "acts of God" that impacted farmers of both races. In the 1970s, then, Halifax County FmHA began efforts to seize the land.

So, in 1976, all "hell" broke loose for the Grant family. Since 1972 the Grants had been borrowing money from the USDA, but between 1972 and 1976, three natural disasters hit the county, which was declared a natural disaster area. Foreclosure efforts began in 1976 despite these disasters, and despite the fact that the family owed a modest sum of $10,000. Creative efforts that included leveraging the Grant children's credit against the amount owed were denied. Disaster relief funds available to all farmers were not offered. The FmHA District Director was ruthless, saying, according to Gary, to his father, "It does not matter who you go to see, whether it's local or in Washington, DC, or who you bring; if you don't bring the entire amount of your loan, we are going to sell you out." Why not? This was prime farmland that is found along the Roanoke River, an area that was becoming a prime development area. Still is apparently to this day.

Like many other Black farmers and families, the USDA did not respond to their complaints during those earliest of days as the Office of Civil Rights was open and closed sporadically, depending upon who was in office in DC. Wisely, the Grants joined forces with the Concerned Citizens of Tillery and its Land Loss Fund along with the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association to fight in support of the Pigford V. Glickman suit which later became known as simply as "Pigford."

The Grant family, however, continued to fight their own individual battle, and in early March, 1998, a "Final Resolution Agreement" was signed which gave the Grant family $350,000 and debt write-off. Still to this day, the agreement has been ignored. Signed then. Ignored now.

Then, in October, 2000, the Grant family entered a class action suit known as Wise v. Veneman along with other African American men and women farmers from North Carolina. When Mr. and Mrs. Grant died, their children, heirs of the estate, continued to seek justice under the law. Required by the Department of Justice to withdraw from the Wise case, the Grant family refused to sign away future options under an agreement of withdrawing "without prejudice" which would mean that they would be allowed to continue in the courts if injustices continued. Unfortunately, those in the Pigford case essentially signed away this right, which means that once a decision on behalf of a Black farmer was made as to eligibility and merits of their case under Pigford, the final decision was indeed final, and they would have no redress under the agreement. Another form of enslavement in my opinion, and I've listened to numerous farmers whose cases were compelling but denied under Pigford.

In Wise v. Veneman, Mr. and Mrs. Grant alleged various acts of discrimination including failure to offer disaster relief funding available to other farmers, failure to execute a fair buy-back option available to farmers under USDA policy, being compelled to work under the onerous demands of a supervised contract, and other matters related to the operations of the county office and supervisors.

Despite a legal battle that has ensued since 1976, the battle still continues, but it apparently will end one way or another on November 20, 2007 in a federal court in Raleigh, North Carolina. A "Writ of Execution" has been served which demands that the Grant family settle all financial matters despite the fact that it was originally settled in 1981. All parties have reneged on the signed agreement from 1981. The numbers are staggering. They would be staggering for any family.

Simply put, an agreement that admitted racial discrimination was signed in 1981, but all parties have opted to renege on it. Despite intense and ongoing struggles to save their ancestral lands, the USDA is intent upon taking it away. Signatures are to mean something in this day and age, as they were to have meant something in 1981. I frankly don't get it as to why the settlement was made and signed off on and then unmade and reinitiated as if the former never existed. The signed agreement was for $350,000, much, much more than enough to pay off the original debt plus the interest that has accrued since then, a penalty which, in my opinion, adds insult to injury.

Such is the sign of the times in many sections of our country. Bottom line, the Grant family, a proud and resilient family, a people who love the land, family, and farming, need our help and support. On the pages of this blog there is a letter than can be cut and pasted and faxed or emailed to the highest office in our land. On another page, there is a slightly different version of the same letter. Check out this link for more information and another version of the letter. Write it in your own words. Adapt it to fit how you say things, but fax it to the White House as a show of support for these good people.

So, the conversation with Gary and me lasted for several hours, and over the course of several days, and since then via email and telephone, the conversations have continued. In my book, what's right is right and what's wrong is wrong. The right ought to be done, and the wrong ought not to be done.

This family has been wronged. They have paid for it. There were no health problems of significance in the Grant family when these matters started. Now, Matthew and Florenza Grant are deceased, taken early from their midst, according to the survivors, due to the unrelenting and brutal stress of it all. And, a brother of Gary Grant's, a Viet Nam veteran and farmer, has also been claimed by death as well, way too early as a result of the persistent and hostile threats of foreclosure.

This family is a good family. Pillars of their small community they are.

They deserve better treatment.

Your Place, Mr. Young, Is Way Over There

Here is the sequence related to the demonstration on behalf of Mr. Young, Kentucky farmer from Owensboro:

"Mr. Young, you and your supporters may demonstrate on the FSU football field, though it is several miles from the KSU Research Farm where the meeting with Black farmers will be held on Thursday, November 15, 2007."

"No, Mr. Young, you and your supporters now have permission to demonstrate on the corner of East Main and Martin Luther King Boulevard, still several miles from KSU's Research Farm where the meeting with Black farmers will be held on Thursday, November 15, 2007."

"Mr. Young, you and your supporters must vacate the premises immediately. You have no right to be on this property where the meeting with Black farmers is being held. You may kindly assemble your supporters at the entrance to the property of the KSU Research Farm, and, you'll notice, that it's about a mile up the road, at a dangerous intersection, so be careful, and, our police department will kindly escort you and your supporters to that location."

Much was to be learned on that day.

Disbelief and White America

Several years ago when I first entered the arena of the Black farmer, I wrote an unpublished document that I used on several occasions. The words were met with two sets of responses depending upon the audience. With a White audience, many responded much like me, disbelief and shock. With a Black audience, the response was something like "of course; we knew that all along."

In those early days I was shocked by what I saw with my eyes, heard with my ears, and experienced emotionally. And, that is the thing that troubles me. That disbelief is still amongst us folk who've not been exposed to such injustices as we chronicled on these pages, and which we will continue to chronicle here. The prophets of old did the same. They listed the abuses of the powerful upon the powerless, of the poor at the hands of the rich, of the landholders upon the land poor.

There is likely something innate in the lived experiences of the privileged to disbelief, even in the face of credible evidence and credible witnesses. Perhaps there's some protective element within us that compels us to distance ourselves. Perhaps some day soon on these pages, I'll write about internal family systems and how we work internally, according to Richard Schwartz, one of my favorite theorists and therapists.

So, today will likely be one more of those times. Those of us who are White will come face to face with stories of those who are Black, those who are Black farmers, those who are family members of farmers.

I'm disturbed that several years ago I was shocked. Today I'm just disturbed by what I see and hear.

Mr. Hall meet Mr. Young; Mr. Young meet Mr. Hall

Thursday morning in Frankfort, Kentucky ought to be interesting. In a small town nearby, Harry Young, long time farmer, lives on a small portion of what was a large and successful family farm.

Unfortunately, he got in the cross-hairs of the USDA and has lost his land.

So, on Thursday there will be a "protest/teach-in" led by various and sundry people from around the area and around the country. You'll see a variety of people at the entry to the Kentucky State University campus. Originally the group was relegated to the football field, some distance from the flow of traffic, and what these folks want is visibility and notoriety for their just cause. So, the president of KSU has relented and given permission for this group to assemble in this more visible spot.

Also occurring on the very same day, Jeff Hall, Director of the FSA office for the USDA there in Kentucky, will be meeting with Black farmers to discuss the 2007 Farm Bill and its implications for them.

So, what is Harry Young, family, friends, and supporters mad about? Check out an earlier post on this blog to specific links, but in short, this story appears too massively complicated and unreal to be real. The USDA alleged that they loaned him a huge sum of money and that he didn't pay it. Mr. Young says that he never got it, that someone else must have received it. It was a rather large sum of money, in fact. However, given the huge sum of money, one would think that there would be a money trail. The USDA won't open up its books to show the evidence that it has. Mr. Young has no evidence that he got; in fact, his evidence is that he never got it. Next came the threat of selling his land. He wasn't even allowed to sell the coal beneath his land to get rid of the debt that he never incurred. Now he's lost his land, and to make matters worse, there are now reports of KKK activities on his land.

Something's just not right about this picture. Something is very, very wrong about this picture.

So, it ought to be an interesting day, November 15th, Frankfort, Kentucky, KSU campus.

Dear Mr. President

Written below is a letter to President Bush about one specific farmer/family situation. This letter is co-written with Mr. Grant and is posted here with his permission.

While it is about one farmer family, it is representative of others across the country. Please consider cutting and pasting this document into letter form, craft it from your own perspective, and fax it to the White House. Time is wasting for this family and for others as foreclosures continue to happen around the country. The fax # is 202-456-2461. Or, you can email the White House at comments@whitehouse.gov. Long shot? Yes, worthy of the effort? Absolutely.

November 12, 2007

President George Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I have recently heard of the Writ of Execution on the heirs of Matthew and Florenza Moore Grant in the New Deal Resettlement Community of Tillery, NC. From what I have been able to ascertain, this family has been in a struggle with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for more than 20 years. That alone is a signal that something has gone awry in the process for citizens to settle Civil Rights Complaints with the department.

I further understand that USDA in 1996 failed to live up to a Final Judgment that covered four years of USDA discrimination against Mr. and Mrs. Grant. This is especially troubling because the document was signed by all parties, including the USDA’s Office of Civil Rights. Perhaps if this document had been lived up to, the Grant Children would not be facing this Writ of Execution at this time. The USDA reneged on this document of trust just as it has with many such signed agreements involving others. Such an obvious disregard for the well-being of potentially successful small family farmers is shameful for the government offices President Lincoln originally called "the people's department."

I did not get to know the late Mr. and Mrs. Grant, but I do know their heirs. I know that this family is hard working, tax paying, and citizens loving justice and equality, and that our government has already dragged them through much torture. Mr. President, you have the power and influence to cause these actions and any other action against this family to cease and desist. This family's Civil Rights complaints against the USDA and its former agency Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) have been proven time and time again. Mr. Grant, who was a successful farmer when he came to the former FmHA at USDA for loans, was placed on supervised loans; made loans at higher interest rates than white farmers all around him; and he, like other Black farmers, received his loans late. According to what I have discovered, even this Writ is the result of discriminatory practices by the USDA and its agent(s) on loans made to the Grants.

As President of the United States of America, you have the power and influence to address this situation and others. Now at a time when the Senate is debating the 2007 Farm Bill which will provide a modest sum of money for the cause of the “Socially Disadvantaged” farmer, your hand in these matters related to the Grant family will send a clear and present signal to the USDA and the FSA that you will not tolerate the mistreatment of our citizens.

Your immediate attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated.I would appreciate any opportunity to discuss these matters with you and your office staff.

Respectfully,

Waymon R. Hinson, Ph.D.
PO Box 29444
Abilene, Texas 79699
325-674-3722

Good Question

It was a normal Sunday lunch at the newest favorite Mexican food restaurant in small town USA. Church had been good, and the long drive home lay ahead of us, but for the moment, the food was good, the conversation lively, and the people wonderful.

In the middle of three generations talking about various things that matter, the lad across the table looked at me and asked, "Why do you work with Black farmers?" The question took me by surprise. Didn't know he was listening. After all, he did have a new, cool book to look at. Sometimes he's just that way, asking questions and making comments that seem beyond his years. Still, what are the words that can be used to say "discrimination, foreclosures, unequal treatment by comparison to 'similary situated white farmers,' and racism in America," especially if you're talking to a seven year old?

"Because they've been mistreated," I replied to him. He seemed satisfied. Knowing this little guy, he's probably going to come back some day and ask, "What do you mean by 'mistreated?'" That will lead to more conversations about things that matter.

Who knows. Maybe he'll grow up to advocate on behalf of Black farmers and other important matters. I hope so.

Taking a While to Get It

Growing up in Northern California my perception of racism was that it was a largely a Southern problem. I took a lot of pride (and still do) in the open-minded culture in which I was raised. During my adolescence, I became friends with people from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, and the Philippines. I dated a girl from El Salvador and another from Mexico, but I never met anyone from the South until after I graduated from high school. At this point in my life, if I would have been asked, I would have stated although racism can be found in all walks of life, and all parts of the United State, the biggest fault with racism lies within the South. In my ignorance, I pushed the blame for the embarrassing legacy of racism onto the South.

I have since come to realize the facts do not support my naïve adolescent view of racism. Scholars have pointed out the late nineteenth century saw a national acceptance of a stepping away from the equalitarian ideals of Reconstruction. This national acceptance, scholars state, is partially responsible for the rise of white supremacy, not only in the South, but all across the nation. The national acceptance can be seen in such actions as the 1896 Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson which permitted the “separate but equal” policy. These actions by our nation are what helped usher the counter-revolution in the south which eventually led to the establishment of the so-called “Jim Crow” laws.

It was eye-opening to discover the problem with racism was not just a southern problem. The problem with racism was a national problem. Yes, it was in the South that some of the more infamous discriminatory social practices took place, such as in education and voting which led to gross inequalities. However, the hard reality is that none of these discriminatory practices would have been able to last as long as they did if the rest of the nation had not looked away, or, sadly, agreed with what was going on.

I see this national problem with racism being carried on with Black farmers. African Americans have left agriculture at a higher rate than white Americans. From 1920 to 1997 African American farms declined by 66 percent. The Pigford case determined that Black farmers were discriminated against by the USDA. Unfortunately, the majority of the claims have thus far been denied. Therefore, even though they won in court, Black farmers are still losing. Black farmers are slowly becoming an endangered species, while the nation seems to have taken a blind eye toward their plight. It is sad to think how little our country has done in adequately dealing with our national problem and shame of racism.

Brian Wingfield
Social Justice Team III

They're Doing Something About It

Much has been said the last few days in the Senate chambers in DC about saving rural America. The rhetoric is pretty clear that the people in power in DC know that the countryside, rural areas, farming, and farming families are good for us. What's good for the family farm is good for America.

There are some folks out there in rural America who are making serious moves to do something about it. They are putting action behind their words, and, maybe they're doing more doing than talking. Either way, here is a site worth looking into and a people and an entity that deserve a shout out.

Try this link to go to information about a cooperative that is concerned about saving rural America, Winston County Self-Help Cooperative. They'll even put you on their email list if you ask.

And Let the Debate Begin

Thanks to a case of the stomach bug that's passing through Abilene the last few days, my wife and I are finding the Senate debate about H.R. 2419 more than interesting. It began yesterday with summaries of the bill, better known as the 2007 Farm Bill, kudos to all who participated, and words of appreciation and respect to all on both sides of the isle who have made this a bipartisan bill. Beyond the technicalities of the titles and the billions of dollars in each area, and implications of the bill and its massive scope, eventually, eventually, one senator spoke with passion about the impact of the bill on family farms and farming.

Naturally, for an educator, the posters, graphs, and charts were interesting. Too bad they couldn't use power point. On the other hand, as a listener-and-gatherer-of-stories kind of a professional, the segment on daily life on the farm by the senator from North Dakota was compelling. To those of us who live in cities, large or small, removed from the country-side, we need to be reminded of life in the country, and the display of labor and love by the 2% of our population who feed the 98% of us.

On the other hand, given the purposes of this blog, and the interests that fuel the flames of those of us who write on these cyber-pages, there was a glaring omission. Yes, I get it that the funding for the socially disadvantaged farmers is minuscule by comparison to funding in other titles, but my hope in our people is that eventually there will be meaningful debate and deliberative action on behalf of the disadvantaged farmers of our land, the African American farmer, the American Indian farmer, the women farmers, and others. And, I hope and pray that those who once farmed, who are still holding on to their land, will be able to farm again, and, I pray for those in rural areas who have never farmed will be provided that opportunity.

There was a shout out for the struggles of those who have lost their land to foreclosures due to inadequate responses to disaster, thus, the need for a more expeditious process with regard to disaster relief and funding. On the other hand, some of us have heard story after story, agonizing story after agonizing story, painful story after painful story, of Black farmers and their spouses and children watching as local officials come to repossess property and to place signs of foreclosure on family land. It is indeed a family farm issue; it is also a Black farmer issue. It is especially a Black farmer issue.

So, by the time the debate comes to and end, and hopefully the debate on procedural matters will end today, I am hoping and praying for more than just a small shout out to the struggles of African American farmers. They deserve more. In my opinion, we are obligated to make way for more than our history has provided.

Institutional racism

Sometimes it's not so obvious. Trying to detect it can be like grasping at a stream of water. You can see it and know it's there, but it slips through your fingers. Sometimes you're left with no evidence. It may not be a hate crime or maliciously worded picket posters. It may leave no proof that validates the experience of the victim. A fight against it may be met with logical excuses that strip away defenses and any possibility for change.

Institutional racism describes the racial discrimination that happens within systems that should be serving people equally. It could mean waiting longer to see the doctor. It could mean being stopped by a cop because you're black. It may mean not getting a job for which you are well qualified. It could be denied access to living in nicer neighborhoods because of racial discrimination in the housing and mortgage process. It could mean that every interaction with an institution is a reminder that you're seen differently.

Institutional racism is a phrase coined in the 1960's to give a name to something that was strongly felt but difficult to detect. Perhaps naming it was an attempt to make this form of racism something to be a little more easily grasped. And maybe if it can be named, then maybe it can be challenged and changed.

What stands in the way of our naming institutional racism for what it is?

Kimberly Cherry