It is Time for Your Conscience to Interfere

November 13, 2024

President Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20050
 
Vice President Kamala Harris
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20050

The outcome of the election was certainly not what any of us expected. Just maybe your staff will recognize our names as we have written you on numerous occasions. We have sent a host of letters to you individually or collectively on 14 occasions, White House staff on 8 occasions, Secretary Vilsack on 12 occasions, and congressionals on multiple occasions as well. Our issues and concerns have been consistent and ignored.

However, given the time you have left in your administration, there are some important issues that we would like to discuss with you before the next Trump administration takes over. Perhaps you know of these matters because South Georgia went to the Republicans partially because of Black farmers.

In a lead-up to the election we had provocative conversations with Dr. Cornel West and Dr. Jill Stein. Our issues were important enough that they agreed to be interviewed by us on “Justice for Black Farmers” and “Seeking Truth and Justice,” the Marti Oakley Podcast Radio Show on Blog Talk Radio.

As we have written to you recently on August 21, 2024 and on October 24, 2024, there is a large number of items that are extremely important to us. These matters cut across very important areas in your administration: Black farmers primarily across the South and rural America. We are not convinced that your offices clearly understand the pain and suffering that has taken place on the farms and in the communities where Black farmers and their families reside.

We have long supported the Democratic party as it has been historically more supportive of our efforts than has the Republican party and we have still been punished. We can point to the Bill Clinton administration as the time when we experienced the most support and got things done.

It is time for your conscience to interfere. As we have said to your administration many times that “Tom Vilsack runs USDA like a plantation”……giving millions of tax payer dollars to those who agree with him and leaving the county committee system in place that has been known for decades to be the death knell for struggling Black farmers. The county committee system is a major indicator of this administration’s complicity in the demise of Black farmers and so many others. We have seen how Vilsack used his equity commission and its member organizations to justify leaving in place the county committee system process.

We warned you of the failed Vilsack political agenda using the race card. You were told by others that the continuation of Vilsack’s failed political agenda was not working and it played out in real time in Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, and elsewhere in the Southern region during the 2024 election cycle.

The “go along to get along” strategy was thought to have been working until election day 2024. Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr., Princeton University professor has clearly stated that using race/identity politics and more to control has failed on so many levels for our nation to see. Yes, it failed on election day 2024.

In view of the Republicans again taking the White House and not knowing what the administration change will mean to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), we are taking our cues from Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr., professor at Princeton when he states, “This is us,” and Donald Trump, “he is the manifestation of the ugliness within us.”

Some may think we are too demanding given the fact that your administration is soon to conclude; however, we are reminded of Dr. King’s letter from the Birmingham jail when he said that for Black people, wait means never. The critique that the white ministers had of him was that he was moving too fast, that he needed to slow down, to do things incrementally. His quote, “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” From 1910 to 1997, Black farmers have lost approximately $326B from the loss of land and potential income. In 1920, 950,000 Black farmers operated farms. In 1910, Black farmers owned over 19,000,000 acres of land. Now, there are approximately 30,136 Black-owned farms of approximately 3,245,991 acres. There is immense pain that comes from the loss of their land and the generational wealth that will not go to their children and grandchildren. Yes, a few Black farmers received funds under the “distressed borrower” clause of the Inflation Reduction Act and some received funds under the discrimination section of the IRA, but we believe that is too little given their pain and suffering.

Time is growing short. We feel the burden of the clock ticking. Therefore, we would like to meet with you to discuss three large matters:  1) Black land loss and the USDA; 2) pain and suffering of Black farmers and their families; and 3) fixing the systemic institutional racism at USDA and the need there for new leadership, systemic change, transparency, accountability, and justice.

Both the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees and the Justice for Black Farmers Group would like to meet with you and other Black farmers and their advocates as did President Bill Clinton in the White House. He was effective in developing a plan with not only the problems but with implementing the solutions.

We weep on each occasion when we read the names of the Black farmers who have died early in the fight against racism within the halls of USDA as they poured body, mind, and spirit into saving their land and livelihood. Countless women and men have died all too early because racism with it weight and burden is all too heavy to bear. And so the words to the Bob Dylan classic, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” ring all too true, especially the question, “How many deaths will it take ‘til we know that too many people have died?” The answer comes, “The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind. The answer is blowin’ in the wind.”

We are the voice of the voiceless. Too many people have died.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully,

---S---

Lawrence Lucas
President Emeritus, USDA Coalition for Minority Employees
Representative, Justice for Black Farmers Group
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064681597169
www.blackmeninAmerica.com
LawrLCL@aol.com
856-910-2399

 ---S---

Waymon R. Hinson, Ph.D.
Representative, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees
Representative, Justice for Black Farmers Group
www.letjusticering.blogspot.com
Psychologist
Waymon.hinson@gmail.com
903-271-4654

 

Jesus, Lord, Come This Way

          ,

       

Jesus,  

            Surely you see this mess

            That we are in

            And know the stress

            And its roots in sin,

Is that so?

Jesus,

            You left some lofty place

            That is far beyond my eyes

            To come into this troubled space

            As we head downhill to our own demise,

Is that so?

Jesus,

            You cast your lot with us                                

            You pitched your tent here

            What do you make of all this fuss

            And the people who die year after year

For decades centuries?

Jesus,

            From your other worldly view

            Surely you see Black people lynched

            Dead on arrival at the hospital

            Because a cop’s knee his neck pinched

And drained his life before our eyes?

Jesus,

            Our people are enraged                                             

            Our people are mourning

            As this war is waged

            With plenty of warning.

What about that pain and suffering?

Jesus,

            You walked and traversed

             Lots of miles beneath the sun            

             People saw you and cursed

             At you and the stories you spun

To what ultimate good?

Jesus,

            People who look like me

            Carry guns and offer threats

            Hanging that effigy from that tree

            When said and done, any regrets

By those folks?

Jesus,

            That young man dead

            Hunted like a deer or rabbit

            By men racism inbred

            Hatred their deadly habit.

Is it so?

Jesus,

            If you were to come again                                                    

            And live amongst us once more

            Could we say thank you and amen

            Or would you close the door

Are we too beyond hope?

Jesus,

            You saved her from the religious

            You kept her from dying

            From rocks and the prestigious

            Pompous cruel lots of folks crying.

Do you see the connections?

Jesus,

            You talked to her by the well

            You told the truth about her life

            Racism simply aside fell

            She was not somebody’s wife.

And you forgave her sins?

Jesus,

            You who faced the angry mobs

            Your human body did hang from the tree

            Can you hear our painful sobs

            Do you feel our frequent pleas

For respite from the pain?

Jesus,

            And that gives me hope

            For a brighter day and time

            When no longer is a rope

            A gun a knee the answer until then I’m

Going to pray grieve and shout

Help my corner of the world turn itself around

And know racism and what it’s about

Is just another deadly ungodly sound

That neither you nor I nor them can bear.

Jesus,

            We want to hear

            And live not in fear

            Shedding another one more one more tear

            While on this planet rear

Our children.

Jesus,

            Save us we plead

            We have made the world a mess

            Our hateful selfish harmful evil deed

            Racism our greatest sin we do confess.

Jesus, 

            And one more thing before I go

            It's surely something you already know

            This land of ours is about to decide

            That one person might heal our divide

But I'm not so sure. 

Jesus, 

            Some have seemingly sold their souls

            To the white guy with his talk and curses real loud

            While she speaks words of joy and points up ahead

            She prays, sings, and laughs as we hold on by a thread.

Jesus, 

            And so it is done, and tears fill our eyes.

            America has made her choice.

            Character no longer matters to those who have a voice

            And the crooked guy takes the prize with all his lies. 

So I linger in deferred hope for this land. 

           

Jesus,

            Please forgive

            Please forgive

            Please forgive

            Please forgive

           

Voting for the Common Good

 "I think that a vote is a kind of prayer for the kind of world we desire for ourselves and for our children. And our prayers are stronger when we pray together,” says Reverend Senator Raphael Warnock. 

A vote is a sacred obligation. When I stood in the voting booth, I paused and pondered what voting was all about. It is one of the best things about democracy, and it is one of the worst things about democracy. We all get to vote, and we vote our prejudices. All public servants are not created equal. 

Recently, I asked my friends who are Republicans and my friends who are Democrats to share with me how their faith shapes how they vote. Zero Republican friends shared anything. Several Democratic friends shared how faith and voting align. It actually makes sense that I’d have few takers. Despite my commitment to keeping names out, or other identifiers, and they could use my professional email address, it made sense that few would. I am convinced that most of us do not take the time nor energy to deconstruct how faith and voting connect. That would take a lot of energy. I am likely not seen as a trustworthy source by those on the right. All someone has to do is skim my Facebook page and where I stand on parties and all becomes pretty clear, and surely that troubles some and delights others. Frequently, someone who is clearly on the right will wade into discourse on my page and dependent upon how sensical their comments are, I may challenge them, ask some questions, or whatever, or my friends will roll up their sleeves. I wouldn’t want to take on some of my friends as they are pretty smart and nuanced in this political world.

Essentially, my democratic friends who answered my question about faith and voting indicated that their faith is at the core of who they are and that they always measure the externals with what their faith says. Some spoke of Jesus and what He did and what He wants believers to do now, not in terms of a party, but in terms of what is right and what is wrong.

My friends who are Republicans who did not venture to reflect upon how their faith influences their decisions in voting left their ideas on their web pages. Trump is God-appointed. He is not a moral human but his decisions ripple forward for decades. Elect him and we’ll have a solid, conservative Supreme Court and other courts across the land. Ignore his history of racism, sexism, xenophobia, his bankruptcies, his criminal convictions including the sexual assault of Ms. Carroll, because he is God’s chosen one like Cyrus, King of Persia. January 6 was not that big of a deal. Those patriots who were arrested, jailed, and charged with crimes, were all set up by the Department of Justice doing the Democrats’ bidding. Their candidate’s crude jokes, coarse language, poor communication skills, word salad, uninformed at various issues such as tariffs, and other things just don’t matter.

As much as I am troubled by his record of wrongs which runs pretty long and deep, I am also disturbed that Vice President Harris does not get any credit for her religious upbringing, her church membership, that she reads her Bible, and that she is praying woman. By all accounts, she seems to be a good person, even a godly person, even though her economic plan could be more nuanced and her foreign policy is questioned. I like her. I like her a lot. I think she would make a wonderful president. Yes, Kamala Harris would, in my opinion. And she has a wealth of public experience.

If our teenagers are listening, they’ve certainly learned a lot. Trump has taught them to mock the disabled, never apologize, never admit to being wrong, science is to be doubted, empathy is for losers, be fearful of other races that are not white, cheating is ok, bullying is fine, stealing from charities is fine, reading is a waste of time, attacking dead people, especially the military, is fine, distorting the truth is normal, projecting blame upon others, and take credit even when it doesn’t belong to you. Name calling and insulting are privileges of the powerful. America is a “garbage can of the world.” Immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” They eat pets. President Biden is a “stupid fool.” Immigrants are criminals, commit crimes beyond belief, and are low-lifes. All of this despite compelling evidence from multiple research sources that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, by far, than American citizens already living here.

And, they are defensive of and for J. D. Vance, the Vice-Presidential candidate. They seem to  ignore, or refuse to scrutinize his frequent flip flopping or his obvious miscalls on several political matters such as his critique of Harris giving money to Black farmers to the neglect of white farmers, which is grossly untrue if you follow my pages or those of Stucki and Rosenberg. I wrote to Mr. Vance a while back and called him out. He needs to get informed on the farmer issue.

Beneath the surface, I think Republicans are angry that their candidate was not in office the last four years, that the election was stolen, that any court case of whatever that went against him was a set-up, that he is not as bad as people think, and, besides, we are not selecting a man to serve as an elder in our churches. Perhaps anger would categorize many of us if our candidate was not elected president, and perhaps it’s unfair to point out this phenomenon as unique to Republicans in this day and age.

Democrats who gave me their opinions say they vote their conscience. By their report, their consciences are shaped by the Man from Nazareth. Republicans are in some ways like their candidate in that he makes transactional decisions. If you do this for me, I’ll do that for you. I read and hear things like, he’ll give us conservative courts so we’ll vote for him regardless of his values. He’s given us an America free by and large of abortions, so that’s a good thing, even though more women are dying or have nearly died from physicians’ fear of losing their licenses.

A long time ago, I determined to vote for the candidate who would most likely benefit “my people.” I’ve been asked multiple times, “Who are your people?” I reply, “My people are Black, brown, poor, marginalized, LGBTQ, Black farmers, people who fall between the cracks of society.” They are all around us, on the left, on the right. All we have to do is look for them.

That sounds curiously like Jesus in Luke 4 as He quotes some of Isaiah 61. Read that section as He’s just come back from the wilderness and temptations and all, and He offers His first public sermon in the synagogue. Read what He says and reflect upon what He lays out as His “mission statements” for his ministry on the earth. I think they sound more like one party than the other.

Recently I had an opportunity to listen in on a Zoom call of a large denomination as three key leaders discussed voting and issues. This sort of thing is not mentioned in the pulpits of my denomination other than “go vote to help us become a Christian nation again.” And I rebel at that notion. Instead, this denomination has a clearly thought out set of principles for voting.

“Vote of the Common Good,” they said and their document reads. The “gospel imperative to love our neighbors, to do justice, and to care for the vulnerable” are literal quotes and lined out for us to read. Do our votes help to make society better?

Taking care of creation is another “common good” imperative. Stopping pollution, ensuring clean water and air, and being good stewards of our natural resources are all key. Protecting the environment and caring for people wounded by environmental degradation is critical.

Economic sustainability is another illustration of the “common good,” ensuring that all workers have a “living wage,” reducing the wealth gap, and investing in education are other principles.

“All are sacred” is another manifestation of “common good,” protection of civil rights for everyone, “freedom of speech, religion, movement, due process and fair treatment under the law” are illustrations of this principle. Voting rights, systemic racism, and humanitarian policies here and around the world are listed.

“Affordable health care and safe living conditions for all” are other illustrations of the “common good.” Affordable healthcare, access to mental health services, strong food systems, affordable housing, reasonable gun safety laws, and prevention of violence are notable facets of this principle.

While it is not the focus of this blogpost to tell anyone how to vote, it is evident that in this particular day and age that one candidate probably does a better job at these things than others.

Prayerfully and mindfully vote and then cast your vote out of the principles by which you live your life with God as your witness.

America, Do You See What I See? Do You Hear What I Hear?

His followers insult Puerto Rico, calling it a floating island of trash. 

Calls Kamala Harris the "antichrist." 

Labels Democrats as smart and vicious. 

Has Dr. Phil misrepresent history and insults DEI.

Immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our nation." 

Trump's 2024 rally in MSG mimics the 1939 Nazi rally.

Immigrants commit more crime, take our money, vote for Democrats, and other mangled nonsense. 

Hitler did some good things, per John Kelly, a quote of JDT.

Wants the kind of generals Hitler had, but the top six:  one suicide and the other five sentenced to death.

Failed during the COVID pandemic. The US' death rate was far beyond that of other countries because he dallied. 

Created far less jobs than any other president since Reagan while the most has been Biden. 

Is in bed with white nationalists. Just go back and listen to the sound bites from Charlottesville. 

He claims to be God's annointed. 

Chose a VP who voted against aid to Israel and then  changed his mind. 

Increased the national debt by approximately $8T during his term. 

Favors the richest of the rich by reducing their taxes which increases taxes on the middle class.

Thinks that tariffs is a good idea when it will only create higher costs for us. 

Uses awfully coarse language in rallies and public speeches. 

Is complicit with Project 2025 and its authors. Says he is not familiar with it but his name is mentioned numerous times and he's been seen traveling with the Heritage Foundation president before he was fired. 

Insulted a Hispanic family whose daughter was murdered by saying behind closed doors, "No f***ing Mexican is worth that much?"

Insulted both the audience and Arnold Palmer and his family by commenting on his private parts. 

Continues to show mental decline and growing inabilities to reign his impulsivity in.

May be, according to some high ranking officials, be compromised and held hostage by Putin.

Insults people left and right like refusing to pronounce Ms. Harris' name correctly. 

Selected a running mate with a sketchy history of re-eventing himself for the sake of expediency and votes. 

Selected a running mate with 1 1/2 years experience in Congress and is a smooth talker, but is woefully inexperienced. 

Runs a negative, bombastic, insulting campaign, full of disinformation, and in particular insults VP Kamala Harris, claiming that she is dumb or  that she is "mentally incompetent" or "retarded?"

Asserts frequently that Harris wants illegals to vote for her. 

Made FBI stop investigating Kavanaugh's sexual offenses.

Has large groups of physicians and mental health professionals claiming that he is incompetent to run our country.

Often speaks in "word salads" pulling random things out of wherever and puts them in a random sentence structure, and using that to describe how brilliant he is. 

Says repeatedly that FEMA is out of money because the Harris gave it all to illegal immigrants. 

Provided Putin with COVID supplies while American citizens were doing without and dying.

Has continued to talk periodically with Putin in violation of the Logan Act.

Led the White House that shut down investigation into Kavanaugh's background which might have altered his acceptance to the Supreme Court.

Has lied about FEMA and hurricanes wreaking havoc in the SE. 

Says that immigrants have bad DNA while explains their propensity to murder.

Gives poor data and explanation into immigrants and crimes. 

Lies, lies, lies, lies, and more lies. 

Claims he is a very honest person which resulted in laughter by his interviewer.

Continues to assert that tax breaks to the wealthiest benefits middle class and lower class.

On camera has slurred speech, run out of energy, and speaks "word salads" which continues a little bit of everything, which he explains as his brilliance.

Told the audience that Putin can do whatever he wants with those NATO nations not paying their 2% of their GDP. 

After being found guilty of fraud and owing millions of dollars, shows up at a sneak.com and hawks his $399 gold plated shoes with a T on them. 

Asserts that there will be a blood bath if he is not elected.

Asserts that he will go after people who opposed him. 

Asserts that just a one hour or one day blood bath will stop crime in the US

Refuses to rebuke Putin in the death of Alexii Navalny.

Rambles on incoherently, misses key names and places, and slams Biden for less of the same.

Declares vengeance upon those who have opposed him.

Will serve as a dictator for one day. Just one day? 

Promises to pardon J6 participants who are in jail or prison. 

Compares his persecution to that of Navalny who was murdered in Russia.

One of his supporters, Jack Posobiec, vows to finish what happened on January 6, and from Trump, crickets. 

91 charges filed against him with 4 indictments.

Courts and/or judges rendered verdicts of $454M in a civil fraud case and $83.3M in a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll. 

In February alone, Donald Trump encouraged Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies that do not contribute sufficiently to the military alliance.

He refused to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for the death of Alexei Navalny, 47, a Kremlin critic who died suddenly on Feb. 16 in a Russian penal colony — instead likening himself to Navalny, arguing they were both political prisoners.

And in a Fox News town hall Tuesday evening, he praised Russia for being “a war machine.”

Uses his platform to insult people such as Jimmy Fallon at the Oscars.

Claims to be God's chosen.

Convicted against Ms. Carrol.

Convicted by the state of NY which likely shows that his wealth is a shell game.

Has followers who believe he is a messiah or prophet, ordained of God.

Plans to turn our democracy into an authoritarian theocracy

Denigrates the Constitution.

Creates "events" to fool his followers by using "pseudo events" that are essentially "performative fiction."

Admires Hitler and Mussolini and is following their playbooks.

Will likely sell out Ukraine to Putin.

Is quoted as admiring Putin, Xe, and other dictators.

Vows to bring back Christianity, or his version of it, as a national religion, despite the specific clause in the Constitution that asserts that Congress shall not make any religion a state religion.

Mismanaged and criminalized the presidency.

His administration had an incredibly large number of charges against them, more than any other.

Judged to be the worst president in the history of the USA.

Not even his mother thought fondly of him and warned about him getting into politics because he would be a disaste.

Declared his wealth, but actually was given $400M by his father.

Despite his alleged wealth and power, he plays the victimization game.

Vindictive and self absorbed.

Convicted felon who can't legally carry a gun but can run for office.

Attempted to steal an election despite telling his closest of employees that he knew that he'd lost to Biden.

Insults numerous people including Biden and his stutter.

Attempted to run the government like he did his businesses.

Has had six bankruptcies, but claims to be good at business.

Added $7.8T to the US debt by giving huge tax cuts to the wealthiest while little to none of it trickled down to us.

Promises a blood bath if he is not elected. 

Judged to be a security risk, i.e., Biden should not give Trump classified materials unless he is elected. 

Believes that Joe Biden won the presidency over Barack Obama. 

Blames everyone but himself in his multi-court, multi-charges debacle.

Hawks Bibles and tennis shoes as fund raisers for this his legal fees.

Now selling $500K watches along with shoes and Bibles. 

Autographs Bibles and the American flag. Isn't the latter illegal?

Pulls campaign contributions over into paying for his enormous legal fees.

Believes that violence, threats of violence, and incendiary language are a normal part of his discourse.

Whose followers painted a picture on the back of a pickup truct of Biden tied up.

Verbally and in writing attacks judges, judges families, various DAs, President Biden, and other people with his inflammatory rhetoric.

Coaxes a crowd of young Christians at a rally in AZ to chant "bullshit, bullshit, bullshit....."

Convicted by a jury of his peers in NYC of felony charges on 34 counts.

Promises billionaires that he will slash their taxes if they vote for him.

Insults judge, attorneys, and others such that he has to have a gag order placed on him.

Insults the jury and the decision of his 34 convictions.

Asks Speaker of the House Johnson to work with him to get the court's decision nullified.

Asking Republican lawmakers to create a law that will transfer state cases to federal courts.

Promises to pay back those who have been against him.

Asserts that J6 was a peaceful gathering and that there was a lot of love there, while he and his family were in a tent on the capital grounds watching the insurrection unfold,

Speaks in incoherent "word salads" such as in the case of his monologue about religion.

Claims to be 6'3" 215, but the photo shows him pudge and overweight against other man who are that same height and weight.

Tells some of his followers that he does not like them, that he just wants their votes.

Has a history of screwing those who work for him, promising to pay when the job is completed, but when it is completed he denis payment as the work was inadequate (read his book for that one).

Guilty of sexual assault and defaming the woman to the tune of approximately $1/2M.

His followers refuse to examine his failing mental health, cognitive deficits, and faulty memory, but instead focus on Biden and his gafes and stuttering as some mental illness.

Insults Taylor Swift, asserting that she is working for Biden, and getting more young voters to vote for the Democrats.

Tells 30 lies in the first debate with President Biden,

Mocks others, the "other abled," and Biden's stuttering problem. 

Mocks those coming across the border as taking "Black jobs," and what are "Black jobs," and alas, that is bigotry wrapped up in bigotry. Reverend Warnock said it and I believe it. When I heard the former president use that terminology, I looked at my wife and cringed. I knew of the dark place this was coming from. 

Dear VIce President Harris: Can We Talk?

October 24, 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20050

We represent the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees and the Justice for Black Farmers Group, and we have done so since our beginning with the United States Agriculture (USDA) in 1994 as we have advocated for Black farmers as well as for women within the institution who are being mistreated.

Our motivations for contacting you are simple. Vice President Harris, you have the President’s ear in these final days, and you have much influence with the American people and various subgroups want your support and for that, you get their votes.

We have had two in-depth conversations/interviews with Drs. Cornel West and Jill Stein. As you know, they are candidates for the presidency in 2024. We just talked a few weeks ago to Dr. Stein in Philadelphia regarding widespread abuses at the USDA. Both of them expressed a deep concern about the lack of leadership, accountability, transparency, oversight, and justice which are lacking at the USDA. We wish to hear the same from the two of you.

We recognize within a few short weeks that the people will have spoken and you, VP Harris, stand an excellent chance at being our next president. In these unprecedented times, much is demanded of our public servants, perhaps more than at most any time in the history of our country. This letter, then, will provide the justification for our list of asks.

Black farmers’ skepticism of President Biden remains entrenched and as his VP, some of that follows you. And, our opposition to the President appointing Vilsack goes back to the very beginning.

As we wrote in our most recent letter to you and President Biden on August 16, 2024, our message has been consistent since our inception in 1994 as the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees. From the earlies stages of our communications with Vilsack in 2011, the White House, staffers, and others, our message has been clear and our list of concerns lengthy and legitimate. In fact, a lengthier list is found in correspondence with President Biden in 2022 in which we advocated for systemic change.

We have previously chronicled some crucial historical points, beginning with Senator Elizabeth Warren during her campaign for the presidency, and the development of her policy to address Black land loss, racism, USDA’s failures, and a myriad of other matters in a document that became the standard bearer for the promotion of justice for Black farmers.

Several senators including Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Raphael Warnock succeeded in writing and submitting to the Senate an important piece of legislation, The Justice for Black Farmers Act.  It marked the significance of historical issues and mistreatment of Black farmers.

We have found the White House and the USDA to be closed systems, closed to us in particular in our efforts to address the concerns noted above to the officials who have the influence to take corrective measures. Secretary Vilsack ignored us except for one unsatisfactory meeting via technology as has President Biden. Only Cedric Richmond and William T. McIntee, in the Office of Public Engagement gave us a fair hearing.

We participated with the agriculture transition team, learned that it was steered by Tom Vilsack, and were informed eventually that what we were seeking was unconstitutional. Next came the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) that brought about the banking industry’s complaints and a slow walking process by Secretary Vilsack that allowed twelve frivolous and racist lawsuits to be filed by white farmers alleging reverse discrimination. See those details here.

With the passage of the ARPA, we celebrated with Senators Warnock, Warren, and Booker and numerous Black farmers and members of the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees and the Justice for Black Farmers group, but our celebration was short lived and the courts and the white farmer cases stymied our progress.

Senators Raphael Warnock and Cory Booker have in the past shown their interest and concerns regarding the continued abuse at USDA; however, in the past few years because of their busy schedules and political obligations, they have been prevented from doing what is really needed at USDA…..to put the Department into “receivership.” The reason is that USDA is not properly carrying out or implementing its own rules and regulations. The decades of failures regarding Black farmers and abuse of women employees at the US Forest Service, has been long documented at USDA, in the Congress, and nationwide.

Next, Congress passed the race neutral Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 which allocated $3.1B for “distressed borrowers” who could be of any race or gender and their debts would be brought to zero. Additionally, a sum of $2.2B was allocated for farmers who could prove that they had experienced discrimination, regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, and gender. We critiqued this bill and its outcomes quite intensely in a letter to the President. The process proved to be laborious but ultimately approximately $1.76B was allocated to Black farmers and the remainder to others.

The process was laborious and complicated, some farmers died before they could see any benefits from the lengthy chain of events and entities. Relatively few of our friends received any benefits as it appears that the few who did were hand-picked by the USDA.

So, that is where we are with regard to finances. However, the saga continues with other matters, and we would like to outline them for you.

We know of zero Black farmers meeting with the President though we do know of a few who have met with FSA Director, Zach Ducheneaux. Their voices are important and unheard.

A significant piece of research found that between 1910 and 1997, Black farmers losses amounted to approximately $326B. Those losses will never be made up. In terms of the pandemic relief funding of billions of dollars, only 0.1% went to Black farmers. This is one example of the many burdens placed upon our Black farmers in rural America.

Various studies from within the federal government have validated what we believe, that inadequacies impact all of us. In November, 2023, the General Accounting Office (GAO) provided a scathing rebuke of the internal tracking system for complaints. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reported in September, 2021 that the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights was failing to process complaints in a timely manner and potential circumvention of the law. A recent doctoral dissertation provided a negative evaluation of the county committee system, one which continues to be protected by Secretary Vilsack.

Secretary Vilsack refuses to provide information about loans and services by race, asserting that to do so would be illegal, despite two Farm Bills that demand the collection and dispersal of this information. We know globally but not specifically these numbers.

Various investigative reports “The Machine that Eats up Black Farmland,” by Joyce, Rosenberg, and Stucki; ”Forced Off Their Land,” by Holloway; and “How USDA Distorted Data to Conceal Decades of Discrimination Against Black Farmers,” by Rosenberg and Stucki; and numerous internal and external reports, accumulated by the Environmental Working Group, all tell the tragedies of white farmers being advantaged in all areas by comparison to Black farmers. These matters of racism and injustice have been occurring under the current administration as well as that of Obama, Bush, Clinton, and previous administrations for decades. The USDA acts as if it is a law to themselves and fails at too many levels to display transparency, accountability, and a commitment to removing racism from its halls and offices. The Equity Commission of Vilsack and the failures of the County Committee system are two that are most obvious to us.

While this is merely the tip of the iceberg for us as advocates, we have not been silent nor invisible. We have written numerous letters to the White House, the USDA, and to others. We have published many letters in various open forums. Perhaps you know that on March 1, 2023, a large number of us demonstrated in front of the White House with placards, signs, and megaphones.  

We, therefore, have several asks of you, Vice President Harris. We hear you say that you are not afraid of good ideas and that you will not shy away from them. Here, therefore, are our issues to discuss with you and/or your top advisors.

Work together with us and meet with us as have Drs. West and Stein;

Place USDA at the top of your list of priorities and create practical options for rural America and Black farmers;

Hear and validate the pain and suffering of Black farmers and families; 

Address the problems within the Office of Civil Rights and compel the office to settle complaints of Black farmers that are languishing there;

Appoint a new Secretary within your administration, one with the trust of Black farmers and other advocates;

Compel USDA to develop a course of action that eliminates sexism and sexual assaults and other abuses experienced by women in the forestry division, Western Region; 

Compel USDA to develop a course of action that eliminates racism and unfair practices that disadvantage Black farmers and favor white farmers; 

Compel USDA to develop processes that create justice, accountability, and transparency throughout the Department; and 

Require the leadership within USDA address the area in which most discrimination occurs, the Farm Service Administration at the county committee level. 

Many African Americans in urban America are only one or two generations away from the farm in rural America and it is important to know the deep connections between the two. Some of us feel forgotten because of the extensive focus on urban America. To begin to address these matters even prior to the election would make a dramatic statement to our people. Black farmers and families are rural America.

 

We follow you and your campaign closely and appreciate the town halls that you have been in including the one on CNN last night. We understand your time constraints as you travel and speak over the next two weeks. Therefore, we request an immediate conversation with one of your closest advisors, Cedric Richmond, to discuss our issues and concerns relative to Black and minority farmers and abused women within USDA and larger systemic issues.  

We stand available to answer any and all of your questions and assist you in this regard. Many Black farmers and their advocates feel abandoned by our Black leadership in Washington and in rural America. We are “the voice of the voiceless.”

Respectfully,

---S---

Lawrence Lucas
President Emeritus, USDA Coalition for Minority Employees
Representative, Justice for Black Farmers Group
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064681597169
www.blackmeninAmerica.com
LawrLCL@aol.com
856-910-2399 

 ---S---

Waymon R. Hinson, Ph.D.
Representative, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees
Representative, Justice for Black Farmers Group
www.letjusticering.blogspot.com
Psychologist
Waymon.hinson@gmail.com
903-271-4654