Sacred Journeys: Theirs and Ours

For those of you who have been following Shoun Hill and me on either our Facebook fundraising page or here on this blog, we thank you. If you have, you know then that I have been sharing a little about the sacred stories and the sacred journey that we have been on. That journey will continue until the Black farmer documentary premiers and then beyond as we intend to use it to tell the stories of struggle and resilience of these amazing people and their fight for justice.

We have just returned to our homes and our beloveds in our cities of choice. Between Sunday and Friday, we traveled from the Bronx, NY and Denison, TX to the northern sections of North Carolina, southern Virginia, and the Durham, NC area.  We conducted five interviews for well over 12 hours and numerous hours of b-roll footage that Shoun will use in his artistic way to tell the stories of injustices done to Black farmers at the hands of the USDA and DOJ.

We are focusing on the limited number of cases that were settled with the USDA and DOJ between 1997 and 1999. Their stories are riveting. Terribly riveting.

Most of these farmers had their cases settled which means a dollar amount, debt relief, and priority services if they continue in farming. We have not asked the interviewees about money or debt relief. Those numbers are actually available most likely via Freedom of Information Act.  We'll see. We'll not reveal any specific numbers for specific farmers, just aggregates.

Along the way, we are coming face to face with a bitter reality. Several bitter realities in fact. Discrimination started very early in their farming days. Farming while Black in America is a dangerous occupation. The list of discriminatory acts is lengthy: farm operating plans changed to accommodate the county supervisor, a supervisor who "lost" the applications, overt acts of aggression such as a confederate tie around the neck of the supervisor or a gun displayed at the desk, too little money coming too late, supervised loans (while whites did not have such), debt relief not offered, and foreclosures without justification. The list is long, very, very long.

The legal processes themselves are brutal, lengthy, and painful.

We have come face to face with farmers and families who tell us that the settlement was not satisfactory. After all, how much is a life work, a kidney, an eye, the battle with diabetes or hypertension, or a marriage or a family.  No amount of money can replace a loved one.

So, as we got to the airport in Raleigh-Durham and headed to Atlanta and on to our homes. We were satisfied that we had done the technologies of recording and interviewing. On the other hands, our hearts were full of stories, expressions of grief, displays of anger, and lives realizing that dreams were lost.

The resilience of the farmers and families is inspiring. Their faith, commitment to their calling, and faith in doing the right thing will inspire us all.

We have one more week of interviewing and much, much work to do. 

Thank you for following us and supporting these efforts.