Dear Mr. and Mrs. Farmer

This morning you came to mind as I read Psalm 103.

I was reminded of our conversation several months back as we sat in your kitchen there in your home not far from the Raleigh/Durham area. You were willing to talk with me, a researcher from a small west Texas university about your struggles with the USDA.

I knew I was an unwelcome guest when one of your sons came in asking "who is the clown" who parked in the middle of the drive way. My car was not in the middle of the drive way, Mr. and Mrs. Farmer, but that question served notice that there was an unwelcome guest in your home. That unwelcomed guest was me. I suspect he was trying to protect you from people who look like me. I am a white man, and I was a stranger to you and those who loved you.

I took no offense at the harshly tenored question. You were then elderly, and now even older, and an honorable son would not want his parents to be further wounded and disadvantaged by anyone. His tone and his words did put me on edge, and justifably so.

During those early moments of the interview, and even later toward the end of the interview, you commented Mr. Farmer, while Mrs. Farmer stood over against the refrigerator in the kitchen, that "He will take care of things. Pay day some day. God will take care of those who hurt people."

Then an older son came in. Mrs. Farmer, you had called him to notify him that the interviewer was there and wanted to talk to him as well. He challenged me left and right, didn't he? I personally had done no wrongs to you or to him, but "my people," those of us whose skin is white had harmed all of you. Those of us whose skin is white who live and work in positions of power and privilege had indeed harmed all of you.

You had lost your farm. You like other black farmers had been shoved to the back of the line in terms of programs and policies within the local county FSA office, a division of the USDA. Because your skin is darker than other folks, they saw you coming, ignored you, made you wait, altered your farm operation plans, and then gave you less than what you needed, and later than you could use. Then the unspeakable happened, a disaster year occurred, like it did to other farmers, yet they received disaster relief funds that saw them through, and you were not afforded the same opportunity.

There was a lot of hurt and anger, tears and sadness, and bitterness and rage that day. Some of your kin could have died. They have heart conditions. Yet they remain true to God.

They believe similar things as did the writer of Psalm 103.

I hope you all are right, that God will settle the score, that in the end things will work out right.

I only wish, Mr. and Mrs. Farmer, that you owned your land, and that your sons worked the land you and they owned.

I still remember that day in your home, Mr. and Mrs. Farmer. That day is indelibly printed in my mind and in my heart.

I still remember.

I Was There...

I was there...watching on television, actually two televisions, in a crowded room at the Health Care Authority, reciting the Lord's Prayer with others, marveling at the moment of the Oath of Office, and reveling in what this says about America. This was history in the making. Had been for a couple of years.

I was there...not in person but in spirit. Mall. DC.

I was there...during the days of the Jim Crow South, when the n-word dripped like slime from the lips of myself, friends, and family. When there were separate bathrooms, separate drinking fountains. When there were separate entrances to the small movie theater in town, just off Main. When the Klan was out and about but only in secrecy behind masks. When color of skin clearly defined where one lived, worked, worshipped.

I was there...when a father exclaimed, "No son of mine will ever go to school with no n*****!" When a father's black friend at work sat on the front porch and drank iced tea but never came in the house. When we'd feed the "hobo's" coming up and down the line.

I was there...when we "invited" our black brothers and sisters in Christ to a gospel meeting only to have them sit in the "colored" section of that little country church. That only after much debate.

I was there...when my friends called me "n*****-lover" because a black teacher believed in me and encouraged me to reach my potential. That at a time when he was a man without a people to whom to belong. Ostracized by the white community while he taught at the "white" and now integrated school, but not really fitting any more into his black community. A man driven, so I'm told to drink. He gave me the ingenuity award on several occasions. That I still value.

I was there...when the phone rang and the attorney on the other end of the line wanted me to consult with him on behalf of black farmers.

I was there...in Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and North Carolina. Listening to farmers' stories of discrimination.

I was there...when students said, "I want to study with you." Four teams were formed. All making different contributions.

I was there...when the tests and trials came from people who wondered why I'd want to be there. Got flipped off. Only white face for days on end. Tormented by what I saw and heard. Still am. To this day.

I was there...when the USDA and DOJ tormented those people. Tantalizing them with hopes of a settlement and justice.

I was there...at the tomb of fallen warriors. In the rain. Holding hands. Sharing hearts. Molded by a cause. A righteous cause.

I was there...at the Land Loss Summit. Telling USDA officials and others what systemic racism does to people. They seemed surprised. I wasn't surprised that they were surprised.

I was there...today in Tillery. Friend was snowed in. Texts flying back and forth. Sent the words, "thinking of you and those you love and the cause for which you lay down your very life." Said he had a towel to dry his tears. Mine were shed more last night than today. Today was one of awe. No, I wasn't there, but I was "there." Reveling in the moment with him. Curious and amazed at what this inaugural moment must mean for him. Yearning to look at things through his eyes. And her eyes in Florida. And his eyes in Georgia. Their eyes in Dawson. There are a lot of "hims" and "hers" in the world.

I was there...in OKC, only Lincoln Blvd., with a bunch of other people who care about making the world a better place. Their tears, shouts, and emotions showed that they were "there" as well.

I will be there...praying for President Obama, First Lady Michelle, and for the First Children, Malia and Shasha. For wisdom. For courage. Stamina. For things that matter to the Lord and to me. For justice to reign. For God's Kingdom to come and for His will to be done. For the economic crisis to end. For wars to end. For jobs. Equality. An end to ceilings. Racism. Hatred.

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.

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

GAO Report Says, "Significant Deficiencies"

According to this article out of Senator Tom Harkins' office, the General Accounting Office, the wing of Congress that investigates things says that Civil Rights efforts under the responsibility of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the USDA are pitiful. Not their word, but mine.

Tracking, adjudicating, failing to keep accurate data, and inadequately undertaking plans to address civil rights matters in the USDA are all deficiencies. Requested by senators on both sides of the isle, the report shows failures since 2002.

Here is a direct quote from the release:

"The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights has not achieved its goal of preventing backlogs of pending civil rights complaints, with some complaints still pending from the early 2000s.

In addition, GAO found that progress report from the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights regarding the extent of and resolution of complaints have been inconsistent.

The reports published by the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, required by law, regarding minority participation in USDA programs are unreliable and of limited usefulness. Furthermore, USDA has not taken the steps necessary to improve the reliability of the data.

The strategic planning of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights has not included the necessary steps to 'provide fair and equitable services to all customers and uphold the civil rights of its employees.'"

Here are the recommendations:

"A statutory performance agreement containing measurable goals and expectations in key performance areas.

An independent and empowered civil rights oversight board tasked with approving, monitoring, and evaluating USDA civil rights activities.

An effective ombudsperson, 'independent, impartial, and fully capable of conducting meaningful investigations of USDA actions.'"

Don't you think it's time for the USDA to get these things right? Maybe? Finally?

"Significant Deficiencies" Found

Copyright 2008 Congressional Quarterly, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Congressional Press Releases

October 22, 2008 Wednesday

PRESS RELEASE

967 words

GAO REPORT AGAIN FINDS "SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCIES" IN CIVIL RIGHTS AT USDA

CHARLES GRASSLEY, SENATOR, SENATE

For Immediate Release

GAO Report Again Finds "Significant Deficiencies" In Civil Rights At USDA

Contact: Jennifer Mullin 202-224-3254

October 22, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A report released today by the independent investigative arm of Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), says that the civil rights efforts overseen by Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are marked by "significant deficiencies" and recommends new accountability structures to correct ongoing failures.

Specifically, GAO found that USDA fails to track and adjudicate civil rights complaints, fails to provide accurate data regarding minority participation in USDA programs, and fails to adequately undertake strategic planning with respect to civil rights. The report was conducted at the request of U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and U.S. Representatives Joe Baca (D-CA) and Edolphus Towns (D-NY). The lawmakers asked the GAO to focus especially on the performance of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, a position created in the 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act and tasked with directing civil rights efforts across USDA.

Earlier this year, the lawmakers protested directly to USDA when reports surfaced that the Department obstructed and temporarily shut down the GAO investigation. According to GAO, USDA officials delayed providing information and, in some cases, instructed USDA employees not to comply with GAO.

"I am disheartened to learn that, despite Congressional direction, USDA continues to fail in its civil rights performance," said Harkin. "And even more disappointed by USDA's rejection of key recommendations offered by GAO. It's time for a new approach on this issue, and I'm grateful to GAO for providing a set of specific recommendations for the consideration of the committee."

"More of the same from USDA in the area of civil rights is not acceptable," Grassley said. "The new report from GAO validates and even expands what other assessments have found about decades- long problems. The leadership of the Department of Agriculture needs to make the GAO recommendations a priority and do everything in the agency's power to make measureable improvements to the way it handles civil rights issues."

"After we held hearings on this matter in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Congress created the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the USDA and tasked that position with resolving long standing discrimination concerns. In 2006 we asked the GAO to provide us with an objective analysis. The findings of this report are troubling. After six years, improvements still have not been good enough," Lugar said.

USDA has a long history of failing to enforce civil rights laws and to ensure that minority farmers and ranchers are able to access assistance and benefits under USDA programs. In the 2002 farm bill, Congress included several initiatives to strengthen civil rights enforcement and to assist minority farmers and ranchers. First, to create new accountability for civil rights compliance across USDA programs and offices, Congress created the position of Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, tasked by statute with "ensuring compliance with all civil rights and related laws....coordinating administration of civil rights laws within the Department....and ensuring that necessary and appropriate civil rights components are properly integrated into all strategic initiatives of the Department and agencies of the Department (7 U.S.C. 6918(d))." Second, to track progress over time, Congress also required the Department of Agriculture to report annually on the participation rate of minority farmers and ranchers in Department of Agriculture Programs.

To determine whether, as a result of this legislation, the Department of Agriculture has improved its civil rights performance, Senators Harkin, Lugar, and Grassley, as well as Representatives Baca and Towns, asked GAO to investigate USDA civil rights actions since the 2002 farm bill, including the actions of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in 1) resolving discrimination complaints, 2) reporting on minority participation in USDA programs and, 3) strategic planning for ensuring USDA's services and benefits are provided fairly and equitably.

A copy of the GAO report is available by clicking here <http://harkin.senate.gov/documents/pdf/GAOReportUSDA.pdf> .

Key GAO Findings

-- The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights has not achieved its goal of preventing backlogs of pending civil rights complaints, with some complaints still pending from the early 2000s. In addition, GAO found that progress report from the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights regarding the extent of and resolution of complaints have been inconsistent.

-- The reports published by the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, required by law, regarding minority participation in USDA programs are unreliable and of limited usefulness. Furthermore, USDA has not taken the steps necessary to improve the reliability of the data.

-- The strategic planning of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights has not included the necessary steps to "provide fair and equitable services to all customers and uphold the civil rights of its employees."

To remedy the lack of civil rights compliance at USDA, GAO recommended three possible actions.

-- A statutory performance agreement containing measurable goals and expectations in key performance areas.

-- An independent and empowered civil rights oversight board tasked with approving, monitoring, and evaluating USDA civil rights activities.

-- An effective ombudsperson, "independent, impartial, and fully capable of conducting
meaningful investigations of USDA actions."

October 22, 2008

Important message from the Rural Coalition

URGENT: USDA Sign-On Letter

The Farm and Food Policy Diversity Initiative and the Sustainable Ag Coalition are circulating the following sign-on letter to Agriculture Secretary Schafer regarding the new Office of Advocacy and Outreach created in Section 14013 of the 2008 Farm Bill. The Office of Advocacy and Outreach will be responsible for ensuring that small, beginning, and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers have access to USDA programs. In general, it will also ensure coordination between, monitoring of, and goal-setting for all USDA programs that address small, beginning, and socially disadvantaged producers. USDA has yet to establish the new office and there is concern that they may not place it within executive operations under the Secretary or transfer programs from the Office of Civil Rights, despite the clear statutory directive to do so.

What to do:

The deadline for sign-on is COB this Thursday, September 4. Please email your organization name, city and state and a contact person to Lpicciano@ruralco.org if your organization would like to sign on.

For further information contact: Ferd Hoefner, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition at fhoefner@sustainableagriculturecoalition.org, Traci Bruckner, Center for Rural Affairs, at tracib@cfra.org, or Lorette Picciano, Farm and Food Policy Diversity Initiative atlpicciano@ruralco.org.

The Honorable Ed Schafer
Secretary of Agriculture
200-A Jamie L Whitten Building
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Secretary Schafer,

As you move forward with the implementation of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, we the undersigned believe it is critical that the newly created Office of Advocacy and Outreach (section 14013) be implemented in a manner that allows it to best achieve its important mission. In creating this office, Congress identified the clear need to place direct emphasis on small farms and beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. In order to achieve the mission of assuring access for these emerging sectors of US agriculture to USDA programs, coordination and accountability across all USDA mission areas is critical. It is therefore essential that this office be placed at the Departmental level, as Congress provided, directly reporting to you, the Secretary of Agriculture. In this and other sections of the 2008 Farm Bill, Congress also recognized the need to make special provisions for the often similar needs small, beginning and socially disadvantaged producers face in achieving viability and profitability. As such, two separate but very much related groups were established within the Office, each adding new functions while continuing and expanding previous work of significant but previously unrelated entities:

1. The Socially Disadvantaged Farmers group includes the new Advisory Committee on Minority Farmers established under Section 14009, and the Farmworker Coordinator established in Section 14013. The existing functions of the current Office of Outreach and Diversity which serves socially disadvantaged producers and minority serving institutions are also transferred to the Office of Advocacy and Outreach from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, thereby allowing the ASCR to focus solely on the critical tasks of assuring USDA compliance with civil rights laws and addressing the many unresolved civil rights cases and issues. This transfer allows the functions of the current Office of Outreach and Diversity to be separated from the issues of program and service discrimination and folded into a special group that focuses on building a better present and future in agriculture for socially disadvantaged producers.

2. The Small and Beginning Farmers and Ranchers group is given responsibility for continuing and building upon the functions for the existing Office of Small Farms Coordination, the Small Farms and Beginning Farmer and Rancher Council, and the Advisory Committee for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers, plus a consultative role on the administration of the Beginning Farmer and Ranchers Development Program administered by CSREES.

No less important than providing a new home and enhanced responsibilities for these ongoing programs and functions is the new law's wider vision of the duties of the new office, including establishing departmental goals and objectives, measuring outcomes, and providing input into programmatic and policy decisions. These new functions require office location outside of any agency or mission area. In the 2008 Farm Bill, Congress also adopted a wide variety of special provisions to address the needs of both socially disadvantaged and beginning farmers. Implementation of these provisions also underscores the urgent need for a separate office at the Departmental level that coordinates and monitors outreach and services across all mission areas to assure access to new programs and to measure and report results.

For these reasons, the legislation purposely includes specific language that ensures this office would be created at the Department level. Section 14013 states, "Secretary shall establish within the executive operations of the Department an office to be known as the 'Office of Advocacy and Outreach.'" There can be no other meaning to this language than as to create this office as a separate office directly under and reporting to the Secretary, rather than under or through any other office, mission area, Assistant Secretary, or Under Secretary. We urge you to move forward with this office as a clearly separate office, equal to other Executive Operations offices in a timely manner.

As regulations to establish the Office of Advocacy and Outreach are created, it is essential this office and its two branches be rooted in and enhance relationships to the many agencies of the Department through the existing networks of Outreach and Small Farm Coordinators. The implementation team and the new directors and staff of the office must include Coordinators and others with significant experience working with small farms and with beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and deep understanding of the current and emerging programs of the Department.

The Department's focus on small farms and beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers as a key sector of agriculture has been sporadic and fractured to the detriment of the producers. The USDA should make full use of this new authority to devote the full front-and-center attention that will allow this sector to flourish to the benefit of rural communities and our food system.

Sincerely,

Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural, Washington, DC
Intertribal Agriculture Council, Billings, MT
And more.

Cc: Sen. Tom Harkin
Rep. Collin Peterson
Sen. Russ Feingold

John Ficara is at it again...."Forty Acres and A Dream"

John Ficara is at it again. Previously, he published his perspectives of the plight of the Black farmer in book and video formats.

Now, two new releases, part I and part II of what you'll see below, reveal in a more in depth fashion the struggle of the Black farmer via the stories of people you'll see him interviewing.

What to do in the face of....

Three things have come together for me of late, no, make that four.

Several weeks back, a young, well-intentioned person said to me, "You are taking these things too personally." Something to the effect that these problems have been with us for a long time and they will be with us for a long time to come. I was a bit taken back, and surely in the midst of my reply was something like, "these things do matter; racism will be with us forever, but we must never, never give up." Would like to have that sound bite back.

Then, Darryl Fears, Washington Post Staff Writer, posted online an article entitled, "USDA is Called Lax on Bias." In that article, linked here for more detail, Lisa Shames of the GAO, reported before a House subcommittee that the information about resolution of Black farmers' claims being adjudicated could not be trusted. She goes on to say, according to the article, that she is preparing a report that will come out in the fall to support her testimony.

So, in essence, she's saying that the people charged with solving the problems relative to discrimination of the black farmers are sweeping things under the proverbial rug, my words, not hers.

Then, on Sunday at our church, the gentleman charged with giving a charge to the class of high school graduates encouraged the honorees with the following:

"I want us to live fearlessly."

"I want us to live dangerously."

"This life will cost you more than you could ever hope to save, so you might as well live extravagantly."

Check out that link above to read the full text that surrounds those words.

Couldn't have said it better. That podcast needs to be heard again and again.

Then, not long ago a student commented that he's learned over the last few months how the yearning for healing, and his calling by God to be a healer, can actually take place when we're moving beyond the therapy room to consider and to engage larger institutions. It's not an "either/or, but a both/and."

That, then, is my limited way of making those dots connect. The things we write on these pages are of grave importance. I do not want to become satisfied while things still need to be done.

"We Didn't Get Nothing:" The Plight of Black Farmers

The following article can be found at the web page for the Journal of African American Studies. Or, hopefully your local library can retrieve it for you at little to no cost. The piece lays out the historical context within which the current struggle for survival of the Black farmer is found. I'm indebted to Dr. Edward Robinson, professor at Abilene Christian University, for his support of this righteous cause. We'll write more about his works later this summer.

"Abstract The central thesis to this article is that blacks were intended to work the land, but never to own the land. The progression from working the land via slavery, to peonage, and to land ownership is explored. Africans arrived on American soil carrying with them a rich legacy in caring for the land, and while they did so in America, it was under the most onerous of conditions. Once freed, blacks became prodigious land owners, but with the onset of the twentieth century various systemic factors impacted landownership for blacks. These same factors along with mechanization, herbicides, government policy, and the courts all served to undermine farm ownership for black Americans. The Pigford Class Action Suit is central to understanding the complexities of the plight of the black farmer and the attempts of various advocacy groups to maintain black land ownership."

Video explaining the plight of the black farmer

Sometimes we need spoken words in order the grasp the gravity of a situation. So, here's a pretty good explanation of the plight of the Black farmer. Give a listen to this interview between Gary Grant, BFAA president, and BMSTV. You will find it more than interesting.

Our paths have crossed before

March 19, 2008

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

Dear Mr. President:

Your path and my path have crossed on two occasions over the years, and with this letter I am hoping for a third criss-crossing of those paths. In the late ‘80s when you were owner of the Texas Rangers, on more than one occasion you greeted fans and signed autographs outside of the old Arlington Stadium. There are a couple of your signatures on game ticket stubs in my collection. My oldest grandson is laying claim to one of them. Then, in 1997, while you were governor of the State of Texas, you appointed me to serve an unexpired term on the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists. I have gladly served the people of our state since then as part of a second appointment by Governor Rick Perry.

I am respectfully writing you out of concern for one specific family in North Carolina, and symbolically via this family, voicing a concern for other families in similar circumstances. Recently U.S. Marshals delivered a Writ of Execution regarding foreclosure proceedings to Gary Grant and the other heirs of Matthew and Florenza Moore Grant in the New Deal Resettlement Community of Tillery, NC. While never denying their responsibilities for any and all debts that they incurred, the Grants have proven that they were racially discriminated against by local USDA offices. This family's Civil Rights complaints against the USDA and its former agency Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) have been proven time and time again. 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. The effect of this discrimination is that the family has accrued additional debt on loans made over 20 years ago. That this family has led Blacks in North Carolina and their community and refused to accept second-class treatment has effectively made them a target of the local agricultural power structure. In numerous ways they have not received the same consideration nor flexible assistance offered their white counterparts in the county.

As you are aware, farming is an inherently risky and capital intensive enterprise. The bulk of the debt in question for the Grants was acquired during the early 1970s and persisted due to a series of “declared disastrous” years. By aggressively pursuing the family’s debt, the local agricultural structure hoped to send a clear message to the other Blacks in the community that “they should stay in their place.” Similar small debts were easily dealt with among white farmers in the county. 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. That this family has been in a struggle with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for more than 20 years over such a relatively small sum, 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 executed as agreed, the Grant children would not be facing the current Writ of Execution. 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. My wife and I participated in a “wreath laying” ceremony at their tomb on the Grant land in July, 2005 out of respect for these two citizens and others who have died prematurely under the stress of farming and facing racist practices and attitudes. I know that this family is a family of leaders. They are hard working, tax paying citizens who love justice and equality. Sadly, representatives of our government have dragged them through this torture and hardship because they refused to accept second-class treatment and worked to make their community a better place. In addition to being the first Black president of the Roanoke Electric Cooperative, the first Black on the North Carolina Rural Electric Cooperative Board, Superintendent of his church’s Sunday School and a church trustee, Matthew Grant was also an entrepreneur and for a time served as President of the Lower Halifax County NAACP. Like all of the previous NAACP leaders from the Tillery Resettlement Farms Community, Matthew Grant had his land and livelihood threatened. Although deceased, he is the only past president to still have his land, though it is under attack.

Mr. President, you have the power and influence to end this family’s struggle against racism and bigotry. You can cause these actions and any other action against this family to cease and desist.
You, as the President of the United States, have the opportunity and duty to rectify the mistakes and/or oversights made by departments under your direct control and other branches of government, such as the Department of Justice (DOJ). So you are now being asked, at a time when the 2007 Farm Bill is in “Committee” - which might provide a modest sum of money for the cause of the socially disadvantaged farmer - to use your power in these matters related to the Matthew and Florenza Moore Grant Family and send a clear and present signal to the DOJ, USDA and the FSA that you will not tolerate the mistreatment of our citizens.

Thank you for your consideration of these complicated matters. Again, I hope our paths will cross for the third time.

Respectfully,

Waymon R. Hinson, Ph.D.
Professor
Mentor, Social Justice Team III
Department of Marriage and Family Therapy
Abilene Christian University

Finally, Summit Photos

The 10th Annual Black Land Loss Summit was held February 15-17, 2008 in Tillery, NC at the Community Center and in Whitakers, NC at Franklinton Center at Bricks. It was an interesting gathering of people from across the nation who care about land loss, Black farmers, and justice.

The team from Abilene Christian University poses in front of the dormitory with Gary Grant, BFAA President. Left to right are Sarah Hugman, Rebecca Culver, Kimberly Cherry, Gary Grant, Ty Mansfield, Ruquyyah Samia, Charla Hinson, and Waymon Hinson

Gary Grant and Waymon Hinson entertain questions following Hinson's presentation on the impact of discrimination on the health and well being of farmers and families.

Scott Mexic, Director of External Affairs, Office of Civil Rights, USDA, converses with Gary Grant.

Lloyd Wright, former Director, Office of Civil Rights, USDA, and Hinson talk about racial discrimination and Black farmers.

Michael Watts, Acting Director, Office of Adjudication and Compliance, USDA, speaks to the assembly.

Spencer Wood, Ph.D., professor at Kansas State University, receives the "Man Called Matthew Award" from the Grant family for substantial contributions to the cause of Black farmers in America.

Cary White, President of the Concerned Citizens of Tillery, with ACU Social Justice Team members Ruquyya Samia and Rebecca Culver.

A summit attendee talks with ACU's MFT Social Justice Team.

Gary Grant, BFAA President, and Sherie Henry, Associate Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, USDA, talk during a break between sessions.

GaryGrant and The Watermelon Man, Vern Switzer, show his children's books.

Some people want to know

There's apparently quite of a bit of controversy in DC the last few days over a squabble related to Civil Rights complaints in the USDA Earlier this week the Office of Civil Rights, United States Department of Agriculture, ordered auditors from the General Accountability Office to leave its offices. Though the office had apparently been cooperating for months on an audit of Civil Rights complaints, Michael Watts, Acting Director, Office of Adjudication, wrote via email to employees telling them, "You are hereby instructed not to meet with any member of the GAO today, or until this matter is resolved," per the Associated Press. Apparently at issue here is whether or not the Civil Rights office had been providing false information about the progress of things. J. Michael Kelly, Agriculture's deputy general counsel, reported that the GAO investigators were intending to speak to specific employees, that the GAO is a wing of Congress and not criminal investigators with authority to investigate legal matters.

Lawrence Lucas, president of the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees, told the press service that GAO had several people willing to talk to the "independent, nonpartisan investigative
office."

Several from Congress have entered the fray: John Conyers, Bennie Thompson, Artur Davis, Bobby Scott, G. K. Butterfield, and Barack Obama, all Democrats, and all involved in various ways in efforts to fix the controversial outcomes of the Pigford Consent Decree as more than 70.000 Black farmers missed filing deadlines. The lawmakers are accusing the USDA of failing to address these serious complaints of discrimination.

Interesting times and interesting people. Justice Team members and I have met some of these folks, Lawrence Lucas, in Memphis at a land loss conference in Memphis, in January, 2006, and Michael Watts in Whitakers, NC a few weeks back.

Interesting, more than interesting, and these events make the team and me sit back and wonder.......

Here are some links with more information. Try this one. Or, this one. I'm just looking forward to reading the letter.

Memorable moments from a memorable Summit

This list could be as varied as the people who'd write it down, but for me, here are some of those memorable moments:

Gifts of money and miles to get us there

Dealing with “Elizabeth” with the British accent

The welcome of the Social Justice Team from Abilene Christian University at the Franklinton
Center at the Bricks

Entering the community center at Tillery again

Friendly faces, Gary, Spencer, Cary, the Rooks brothers, Delores, Juan, and so many more

The Watermelon Man and his stories

The guard at the school

The presentation and responses to it

The shout out from the pastor in the back of the room

The question from the man at the back of the room who wanted to know if I included the “voices of the deceased”

The shift from “working the crowd” to “getting it”

Scripted speeches to impromptu emotional responses

Late night conversations with Social Justice III and IV and Gary Grant

Sitting across from the Foxworths from Mississippi at lunch and his goodbye after dinner,
telling us that they’d see us in Abilene

The hugs and kisses from Evangeline and Delores

Charla’s insightful questions and comments

Students’ insightful questions and comments

Feeling the energy in the room and hearing the sounds of approval

Stories from behind the scenes of Pigford, USDA, DOJ, Sitkof, Glickman, and Carter

Being told that our presence was important

Meeting an amazing cast of characters: farmers, retired, drummed out, still farming; USDA Office of Civil Rights employees, career versus appointed; employees of the Franklinton Center; BFAA officers; spouses of farmers; students from ECU, ACU, and WCU; academics from KSU, MSU, and ACU; former Director of Civil Rights at the USDA; L. C. Cooper; Marvin and Angie, Gary Grant, Eddie Wise; activist with Rural Coalition; writer for the Militant; writer for the Raleigh-Durham paper; the farmer who works two acres and makes a living in the area of specialty crops already sold before they’re grown; the absence of Dr. Mohammad; the Grant family: Gary Redding and his twin sister, Gloria, Evangeline, and Sky; head of agriculture at NC A & T; and so many more

Tour and background of Franklinton Center and learning more of its history

The long goodbye embraces

The conversations on the way to the airport and the meaning making that will last for a while

Memorable quotes from a memorable Summit

"The Watermelon Man can sure tell a story."

“Make our friends bigger and our enemies smaller.”

“You kicked some serious butt this morning.....I thought I was just telling the truth.”

“Trust will never come without addressing the imbalance of power.”

“I could feel the energy in the room.”

“We’re still in the kitchen.”

“I’m a farmer.”

“If you get to where you’ve been, you’ll get back to where you were.”

“Can we move from proving discrimination to exploring privilege of whites?"

“Net metering”

“It's barely 7:30......Your 7:30 lasts eight minutes.”

“How much courage did it take to call me by my first name?”

“The feels like a family vacation.”

“Johnny Rivers, South Carolina, $46K, $3 million”

“We want to earn your trust and your respect.”

“Competency, communications, customer focus, integrity”

“Spend some time to get to know us.”

“Almost over”

“65,000 denied”

“Potential cause of action”

“Right to file a new lawsuit, not to get you into Pigford”

“No reason to believe it will be like Pigford”

“Approved comments”

“We don’t do what we do very well.”

“Olive branch”

“Senior guidance”

“Hand hold you over to the right program”

“Limited, socially disadvantaged, minority, Black”

“I want to believe what I’m hearing.”

“Partition sale, nefarious, complicated, speculator, location of heirs, I’ll buy, co-equal tenant, auction, land lost”

“Stops the bleeding”

“A necessary class action”

“Glickman admitted”

“Floor….if income is below $15, then you don’t qualify for these programs.”

“Didn’t impact the rich but did the poor”

“Truth”

“There's healing in the telling”

“Faithful witness to the telling of your stories in places you can’t or won’t go”

“Acknowledgment of wrong-doing”

“Remediation, reparations, compensation for harm”

“Policy makers versus implementers”

“We can reconcile only if you the victims remain the victims.”

“I want my cow back, and the calf she bore.”

“What’s comparable to the cow?”

“The perpetrators do not get to set the rules for reconciliation and forgiveness.”

“James Cone says that the cross and the lynching tree must be placed side by side.”

If you find yourself curious about the context of these quotes, feel free to write and ask. My students and I will be happy to discuss these things with our readers.

Update on the Summit

Check this link for the latest update on the schedule, speakers, etc., for the 10th Annual Black Land Loss Summit at the New Deal Tillery Resettlement Community and Historic Franklinton Center at Bricks, North Carolina.

Here are some of the speakers and where they're from:

Kansas State University: Spencer Wood, Travis Linneman, Andrea Boyles, and Zelia Wiley

Virginia School of Law: Dania Davey

Farmers: from around the area telling their stories

Tillery, NC: Gary Grant

Federation of South Cooperatives: Jerry Pennick

Abilene Christian University: Waymon Hinson

North Carolina A & T: Alton Thompson (invited)

USDA, Alternative Energies: Marcus Tillery (invited)

Wind Power, Boston: Paul Reeves

Chicago, IL: Barack Obama (invited)

Greensboro,NC: John Raye

United States Department of Agriculture: Margo M. McKay, Scott Mexic, Michael Watts, Alva Waller, John Pollock, Robert Wynn, Savi Horn, and Lloyd Wright

Former candidate of US Senate: Cynthia Brown

Pray for this event, its presenters, and its potential impact on the issue of Black land loss in our country.

Who's Coming to the Summit?

There is an impressive list of speakers at the 10th Annual Black Land Loss Summit. Some are confirmed and others are tentative, but it ought to be more than interesting.

Look at this roster of professionals:

Spencer Wood, Kansas State University
Sarah Warren, North Carolina State University
Gary Grant, BFAA
Jerry Pennick, Federation of Southern Cooperatives
Waymon Hinson, Abilene Christian University
Alton Thompson, North Carolina A & T
Marcus Tillery
Paul Reeves
Barack Obama (invited)
Thomas Walker (invited)
John Raye
Margo M. McKay, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, USDA
Alva Y. Waller, Pigford Class Monitor's Office
Robert Wynn
John Pollock, Heirs Property Retention Coalition
Cynthia Brown

Goals and objectives for the summit include: make continued progress to stop and reverse African American agricultural land loss, make continued progress toward increasing the number of Black farm family operations, continue to assist petitioners in the appeals process under the Pigford Consent Decree, work to increase awareness of reparations issue, continue efforts to develop an inventory of what farm families produce, work to create a directory of all Black landowners in both rural and urban areas, continue to influence and/or impact agriculture education at the secondary and collegiate levels, continue to help farmers diversify for success, and work with groups on the international land and farm issue.

The summit will be held at the historic Franklinton Center at Bricks and at the Tillery Community Center.

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.