Tomorrow Another Vote

Senator Reid, D-NV insists that tomorrow will bring a face to face vote on the discrimination case of Pigford v. USDA as well as the Cobell case of American Indians v. the US Department of the Interior. It's called a stand alone vote. I can hear some in America groaning, wondering when all of this pay-out of our tax payers dollars is going to end. We're living in 2010, they will say, not 300 years ago, so just get over it. I didn't do anything to them, and neither did my grandparents, so why are you holding us accountable for history's misdeeds? Check out the article for the facts about the vote and comments about it as well. Interesting. Very interesting.

It's not that simple, is it? History is revisited daily in lives of some people, all based upon bias and skin color and assumptions and "world views," and all of that sort of thing.

Injustice is injustice. Wrongs need to be made right. America needs to address grievances from the USDA upon the lives of Black, Indian, Hispanic, and women farmers. Let's deal with the African American farmer issue. Yes, some received a settlement under Pigford. Those stats are very, very misleading. Only a small number prevailed, and the majority under the least amount of dollars. I can tell you a lot of stories. There are many stories that need to be told, stories that would make us weep if we didn't take it so personally and react defensively.

Tomorrow is a pivotal day. The vote comes. Face to face they will stand, Democrats and Republicans. I hope I'm wrong about the vote. Lord, bring victory to these struggling families who serve you by working the land.

A friend of mine posted me today on Facebook with this link. It summarizes a lot. I don't think it could be said much better. The Sherrod case is indicting more than just one or two people. At the end of it, it pretty much says what I've been thinking and what I wrote on these pages a few days back. I hope you'll read it. It's found in Yes Magazine and talks about the real story of racism at the USDA. It's a long, long, ugly history of injustices to Black farmers of this land.