I'm Just a Layman in Pursuit of Justice: Coming Soon

 

The Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2020

Yesterday was a good day in DC as far as my friends and I were concerned. Those of us who have been in the Black Farmer Movement were thrilled with what happened. Please allow me to weave a few threads for folks who follow my writings here.

I first entered the world of Black farmers in 1994 at the request of James Myart, Counselor at Law, who was representing Black farmers in their complaints against the USDA. I did so very much as a novice. That led to a number of things that shaped my personal and professional life. As cases were settled, and as I saw the inequities of the settlements, soon to be revealed in this documentary, other things became clear. Farmers needed debt relief, and few got it; farmers wanted the USDA to be reorganized such that discrimination would stop. They didn't get that either. 

Between 2018 and 2020 while Shoun and I were working on the documentary, some remarkable things happened. Several of us were invited into the arena of campaign policy by Elizabeth Warren. She had publicized an opinion that heirs property laws were the predominant factor in Black land loss. We disagreed and told her so. She listened. We were invited to connect with her policy team, one meeting of which she actually attended, and, thus, her policy on behalf of Black farmers was developed. I am very pleased to have had a modest hand in the development of that policy. Hit some of the hyperlinks and you'll see what I mean. 

Then, when she withdrew from the presidential race, we engaged with Senator Sanders, and then with Michael Bloomberg, and then with former Vice-President Joe Biden's campaign. The least satisfying, and the most frustrating was that of Joe Biden's policy team. I'll write more later, but for now, suffice it to say that they called our requests "unconstitutional" and actually ended the conversation long before we knew it, with a policy that we found inadequate. You can read it here. Scroll down until you see "Advance Racial Equity in Rural America." 

By comparison to Senator Warren's plan, the policy that Joe Biden's policy team developed was inadequate. We told them so. And, if you read both, you can see what we meant.

Then, during the presidential campaign, before Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were elected by we the people, we got a call from the offices of Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Cory Booker. They were writing a plan that would lead to what is now called The Black Farmer Justice Act of 2020. We engaged them and met with them via teleconference on several occasions. We had the feeling that something big was going to happen. We were honored and excited to be at the table of development of the Bill. 

So, yesterday we thought that the Bill would be introduced in the Senate, but with the Thanksgiving holidays being upon us, the introduction will occur on November 30. In the meantime, Senator Booker released his press release about the Bill. You can read that here.  You can read the entirety of the Bill here. You can read a summary of the Bill here. You can read the endorsers of the Bill here. When you see the Black Farmer Documentary group, that's the folks Shoun and I interviewed. When you see USDA Coalition of Minority Employees, that's where I land as an "adviser." 

Or, if you want to read just one article that pulls together many of these things, try this one by Tom Philpott of Mother Jones. 

But what does the Bill contain? It contains many things that Elizabeth Warren included in her policy document. She did not forget us. You read that right. She....did.....not....forget....us. 

Within the Bill are a number of things: reorganization of key offices of the USDA and its Office of Civil Rights, debt relief, a moratorium on foreclosures, support for HBCUs, land purchase opportunities, a bank that would lend to farmers of color at reasonable interest rates, an equity commission, and processes that insure fairness and equality under the law. 

So, now we wait. It'll be rejected by this Congress. It will then be marked up and resubmitted before the new Congress in 2021. Then, we pray, and we will work, for it to be passed into law. 

In a conversation with Lawrence Lucas, as mentioned below, my comment was "I think this is the most compelling piece of legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964." While that sounds like an ostentatious thing for me to say, I was pleased to hear him say the same thing in his interview with Tom Philpott. Yes, friends, this is huge. 

That's the short verse to a long, long story, and it is only my story. There are more details and more people than could reasonably be mentioned in this short article. Let me mention two. Lawrence Lucas, President Emeritus of the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees, and Lloyd Wright, former Director, Office of Civil Rights, under President Clinton. I am honored to walk in the shadows of these two men, both of whom are legends in the fight for justice. 

Who is in Charge of This Place?

Dear Lord:

What will this day bring

What lies ahead

What secrets lie beneath the sky 

Is today the day that more people die

Is today the day that we all dread

The day that the Man comes

And takes their land away

And there sounds the beating of the drums

There are 17,000

Or so I am told

The story grows unabated

Does the truth not make you cold

The Book says you are sovereign

And over all you do reign

And if that's true

Why do people live in so much pain

People come and people go

Reaping that which they did not sow

While others work and strive

Trying to make their living from the soil

Yet those in power

With titles and pen

Ignore insult shame change

Documents again and again

With such power

There comes much dread

And some I knew

Are now entombed buried dead

They died too soon

Is my own frail thought

They labored and labored

Only justice they sought

Now we're hearing their stories

All of which are true

Tears in their eyes grief in their souls

They always looked to you

Payday some day

Said one on a warm July day

Now he's gone to the ancestors

And with You is what I pray

Yes we say that you are sovereign

And that you control it all 

But what about their justice

Why do you forestall

Maybe we have it all wrong

Our understanding so meager

But for justice we yearn

And them still so beleaguered

Someday we'll get it right

Righteousness will be in sight

And those who did the wrong

Will wind up as lyrics of a song

I'll keep on asking questions

And answers will surely come

It won't be for lacking of trying

While we toil till the setting of the sun

Making Sense Out of the Chaos: Analogy of a Marriage

Frankly, I have not been sleeping well this past week. While insomnia is a life-long torturous battle, these days of chaos of the election have only exacerbated it. Fact is, I have gone to sleep and awakened with the question, "So how did we get here?" I have a few random ideas. 

When I put a relational spin on what is happening with the current president and his followers, along with those who have "fired" him or "divorced" him, I find some relevance. Here's what I mean by that. Every narcissist needs someone with whom to dance, or relate, or to marry, someone to carry his fragile sense of self, someone to bind his wounds. That person is generally dependent. The narcissist feels no empathy, organizes his own world, sees things in limited ways, uses rage or the threat of it to control others, gaslights, and never apologizes. We know these people. We have seen them and, yes, we live with them. The dependent person is one who out of anxiety or depression or whatever sadly enough, sells herself or himself to someone who will take care of her or him. "I am who I am because I'm with you. You give me meaning. I look good on your arm" are some meta-messages. 

That dynamic forms an abusive relationship. Power and control dominate, validation doesn't occur, and the violence can be overt or covert, and it wears one out. The typical pattern of hostile attacker and anxious retreater is often seen. The dependent one has a choice ultimately, to stay and sell out or experience the pain of divorce. There is always the delicate balance of reasons to go and reasons to stay. There is also always the dynamic of the pain of leaving and the pain of staying. We stay when the pieces align. We go when the pieces align. Leaving means to rebuild one's fragile sense of self that has been trashed by the narcissistic partner. 

Many in America have divorced the president. America has been abused for four years by this narcissistic president. Our partners around the world have left us because they see what is happening. It's like friends and family of the abusive partnered relationship. They may quietly say things in support, or they may stay completely silent. Nobody really wants to hang out with people in this sort of relationship or with this type of human being. Their nonverbals speak loudly to us. 

As strange as it will sound to those who still are emotionally and philosophically hooked to this president, there are some of us who experience various forms of PTSD. Yes, PTSD. Traumatic event after traumatic event after traumatic. When you add that trauma of the pandemic, and when you add those to the harmful rhetoric to the lies to the deceit to the gaslighting, it's all pretty clear. 

America is divorcing this president. We see a better day. We know that the days ahead, the months, the years, will all demand work and effort. We are regaining our sense of self. We stepped out and voted across the isle. Some switched sides of the isle months ago. 

We have seen and felt how he treated us. We have stood by and watched how he treated others, and we watched while he listened to others who only fueled his narcissism. They have been dependent upon him, and we have experienced the abuse that such a relationship engenders. 

Want evidence of this? Simply watch the president's speech last night. He displayed a quiet, controlled rage, as he blamed the numbers on a concerted effort to steal the election from him. This is one face of the narcissist who is being divorced, who doesn't take divorce well, and who wants to blame others for his failed "marriage." There is more evidence, and it's been with us for four years. 

That's why he is embarrassingly fighting the election results and lying to us. It is his modus operandi. We are not surprised. It's merely what we've seen for four years.

That's why we have filed for divorce. 

And, of course, we must figure out some way of being at peace with those who have not now or will likely never "divorce" him, but will continue to defend him. 

We need not feel obligated to defend the reasons for our divorce. We can feel confident in what we did because it was in our best interests, our children, and the community in which we live. 

Every analogy has its flaws or holes. This is only an analogy of what's happening at a national level. 

Every analogy contains some truth, not all, but some. 

We will sleep better soon. 

Let Justice Ring: I Want to Be Amazed

Let Justice Ring: I Want to Be Amazed: Dear Lord: I want to be amazed I want to be shocked I want to be stunned Right from the start. I want to stand wordless I ...

Political Humor and Not So Humorous Political Cartoons