Black History Month and Me

I have to admit that I have little patience for people who ignore or dismiss with benign neglect the significance of Black History Month. Yes, nail me for being judgmental, or nail me for my attitude toward people who are dismissive of Black people and the history and depth and breadth of the contributions of Black America upon America. 

Several years ago, an official in the USDA approached me at a land loss summit, pulled me aside, and encouraged me to tell the farmers to "get over it," to move on with their lives and to let this thing drop. I actually ran across his page over on Facebook, the "people you may know" app, and low and behold, yes, I did "know" him, if a weekend makes for knowing.  I wonder what he thinks of things now.  Does he even remember that inflammatory conversation. 

That same weekend, another USDA employee was distant and "in his head" about these matters of injustices, but another USDA employee was not. Through her tears she had us turn off our recording devices and she spoke the truth to us, the truth that we knew to be THE TRUTH. I am still deeply grateful for her and have sought her advice on several occasions. 

The truth is that this country was built on the backs of Black people. Their bodies were the commodity that was worth so much that we'd choose to fight a civil war over it, but then, once that was over, and reconstruction was gone, and the Black Codes, and then separate but equal, and Jim Crow were in place, we promptly forgot, or we never knew because teachers were forbidden or afraid to teach the truth in our history classes. 

I consider myself to be more than an ally these days.  Early on I was an outside observer. Over the course of time, I was invited in to participate. Now, though I have not put it up for vote, I consider myself a fully engaged member of the movement. Stories of Black America, from Africa through the Middle Passage, to the auction block, to plantation life, Freedom, Reconstruction, Jim Crow South, and up to now, I have heard stories. Numerous farmers have chronicled their genealogies all the way back to slave days. Their ancestor's name, on a specific plantation, and how things rolled from them to now. 

So, don't tell me that enslavement was then and there but this is here and now. I do not ask for forgiveness when I get angry at people who stick their heads in the sand and ignore or disregard the stories of the ancestors and their survival against insurmountable odds. 

In theological terms, "Black farmers" is a particular. Racism is the universal. Racism that has undergirded our country invaded the halls of the USDA from DC down to the county committee level. So, you talk about Black farmers, you'll be talking about them, and you'll be making inferences for racism in America.

Thirty years ago, I had not heard of "Black farmers," and now, the term is in my every day vernacular. I read, research, write, advocate, and tell stories of Black farmers. I sit in on teleconference or Zoom meetings with senators' offices in DC, crafting The Justice for Black  Farmers Act of 2021, introduced in the Senate by Booker, Warren, Warnock, and Gillibrand, or finding out the current status of things, or asking why a particular phrase was there in the text rather than another phrase. 

I am encouraged by Senator Reverend Warnock's bill, "Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act," which has been written into President Biden's COVID-19 Relief Act," a bill that will relieve the indebtedness of Black farmers, and other minority farmers, where interest is piled on top of interest on top of interest, initially created by USDA officials who discriminated against them. Otherwise, the debt would not be there.

We have it on good record that 20,000 Black farmers are on the verge of foreclosure. In 1920, there were 950,000 Black farmers who farmed on 22,000 farms, who in 1910 farmed 47,000,000 acres. In 1910, Black farmers owned 19,100,000 acres, which was down to 16,700,000 acres in 1920.

In 2017, there were 35,470 Black-owned farms with total acreage of 4,673,140 acres and an average farm size of 132 acres. In this same year, the percentage of Black-owned farms was 1.7%. 

According to Stucki and Rosenberg (2019) and Lloyd Wright (2021), the numbers of loans to Black farmers is incredibly low by comparison to white farmers. They estimate that in terms of the loss of generational wealth to Black families given the horrendous loss of farms and acres is close to $1 trillion dollars. Here is what that looks like: $1,000,000,000,000. 

Now, on the one hand, we have a redo Secretary at the USDA. He failed the first time, but we are watching him now. On the other hand, we have hope in The Act of 2021, authored primarily by Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, and we have the bill for emergency relief that will offer $5 billion in debt relief and services. 

No sum of money will make Black farmers whole. After all, what is a pair of eyes, a pair of kidneys, a brain, or a marriage and family worth? There is no price.

So, don't tell me that there is no need any longer for Black History Month. 

Coalition in Pursuit of Justice: Our History in a Nutshell

February 25, 2021

The Honorable Senator Cory Booker

Washington, DC

 Dear Senator Booker:

 The USDA Coalition of Minority Employees and the Justice for Black Farmer Group are grateful for your support of Black farmers and systemic change for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). We consider The Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2021 to be the most pivotal civil rights legislation since The Civil Rights Act of 1964. We hope it will soon pass and that it will bring relief to thousands of Black farmers, minority farmers, and USDA employees who have been discriminated against for decades. Your vision is deeply appreciated.

The USDA Coalition of Minority Employees has been engaged in similar struggles on behalf of both Black farmers and USDA employees since 1994. Our vision is to bring to light the horrendous mistreatment of both Black farmers and women within USDA. This includes women who have been sexually assaulted with impunity by their peers and superiors. That information is found at this link: http://www.agcoalition.org/index.html.

We believe the Act of 2021 will address both sets of issues by creating systemic changes within USDA and its organization. It has been my honor and privilege to serve as the Coalition’s first president and then as its President Emeritus upon retirement from USDA. As a Coalition, we represent all persons of color as well as women employees. We began advocating for Black farmers in 1994 and we know all too well their struggles for survival.

By way of history, we initially engaged Senator Elizabeth Warren via our letter dated August 19, 2019 when we believed she was focusing too narrowly on the heirs’ property issue and not enough on the historical discrimination within USDA and its racist history, Black land loss, and the loss of generational wealth for Black farmers. Our letter to her with over 100 signees indicated the breadth of the Coalition as we engaged both rural and urban farmers. Her quick engagement with us allowed us to participate in the development of her policy, “Addressing Discrimination and Insuring Equity for Farmers of Color,” which is found here:  https://elizabethwarren.com/plans/equity-farmers-of-color. We had many conference calls with her campaign and policy staff including a meeting with Senator Warren directly. We were very pleased to note that a candidate for the Presidency of the United States fully understood the plight of Black farmers and that she had invited us into the conversation.

We had a host of meetings with Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign staff from late 2019 through early 2020. We were pleased as well that he understood the gravity of the Black farmer issues though our engagement as his team substantially engaged the Coalition and our farmers and advocates, including a representative of women employees of USDA in December, 2019.  His policy, though never published, was one that we could support. Some of his ideas for Black farmers are encompassed in his policies for rural America: https://berniesanders.com/issues/revitalizing-rural-america. He expressed his concern for civil rights and his support for the Black farmer issue by voting against the confirmation of Secretary Vilsack.

We engaged with a candidate, Mike Bloomberg. As reported in the Kansas City Star on February 28, 2020, Lloyd Wright, one of our Coalition members and former Director Office of Civil Rights for USDA, asserted that “Mike Bloomberg’s agriculture plan would make up lost time for America’s Black farmers.” He, too, had a grasp of the complexity of issues facing Black farmers. Here is Mr. Wright’s op ed: https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/readers-opinion/guest-commentary/article240721906.html.

As the campaign for president proceeded, we found it important to engage the Joe Biden policy team. That engagement involved a number of members of our Coalition during 2020. There were stumbling blocks that we experienced along the way including a lack of depth in grasping the larger issues for USDA women employees and Black farmers, a lack of clarity with regard to what was labeled as “unconstitutional” and problems with debt relief.

It was also apparent to us that Tom Vilsack’s influence was in control of the process. We were dismayed that the policy team insisted on including “accomplishments” of former Ag Secretary Thomas Vilsack, most of which we disagreed, in Biden’s Policy for Black farmers, which was given to us on July 31, 2020. At that time, we understood the brief document to be a work in progress. We were working with them in good faith; however, we soon learned that they were not as committed as we had expected. That policy is at the end of this lengthy document under the title, “Addressing Longstanding Inequities in Agriculture:” https://joebiden.com/racial-economic-equity.

In our work with Biden’s policy team, we pointed to the investigative reporting of Rosenberg and Stucki and the five myths of the Vilsack administration: https://thecounter.org/usda-black-farmers-discrimination-tom-vilsack-reparations-civil-rights. Lloyd Wright responded to the assertions of the Biden Policy Team by writing his own response from his perspective as a former employee of USDA and Office of Civil Rights and as an appointee of Thomas Vilsack. His scathing rebuke was published here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/lloyd-wright-open-letter-to-biden-about-vilsack/a1d55aef-78ad-41f1-aa12-1e2ff0874d19/. It was also spotlighted in this article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/01/14/vilsack-usda-black-farmers.

When it became apparent that Vilsack was indeed the nominee by President Biden, the Coalition was extremely upset as were many others around the country, especially Black farmers. As President Emeritus of the USDA Coalition for Minority Employees and as spokesperson for the Justice for Black Farmer Group, my voice was heard in this article: https://thecounter.org/tom-vilsack-biden-usda-civil-rights-betrayal-lawrence-lucas. Specifically, “Tom Vilsack’s record is an abysmal one when it comes to civil rights at USDA” were my words precisely. Further, I stated, “With this nomination, the people I represent are feeling a sense of betrayal.” And, yes, the confirmation of Tom Vilsack for Secretary of Agriculture gives us very serious concerns.

During this window of time, three releases buttress our beliefs about Black land loss and racism within USDA. First, the award-winning documentary, “I’m Just a Layman In Pursuit of Justice: Black Farmers Fight USDA,” chronicles the stories of farmers who prevailed against USDA and DOJ between 1997 and 1999. The film received an Honorable Mention and the People’s Choice Award at the Denton Black Film Festival. The film’s website is here: https://blackfarmersinsearchofjusticefilm.com.

Second, another documentary has been developed which tells of land loss via legacy farmers in the South using music and farmers’ stories. Here is the link to their trailer: https://www.facebook.com/AcresofAncestry/videos/510326393279147. The film has been accepted into a premier film festival, the Pan African Film Festival. Third, a book that describes in detail Black land loss along with land lost to American Indian tribes has been published by Jillian Hishaw, CEO and Founder of F.A.R.M.S. Her book is discussed here: https://www.jillianhishaw.com/book-purchase/landtheft.

In late September, 2020, various members of our Coalition began meeting with members of your staff. We found those conference calls to be warm, engaging, and informative, and your staff open and conciliatory with our recommendations for the Bill that you were soon to submit to the Senate. We were delighted to see the similarities between Senator Elizabeth’s policies from early 2019 so well developed in The Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2020 that you, Senator Warren, and Senator Gillibrand proposed to the Senate. The Bill’s comprehensive nature was gratifying to read as it addressed racism, complaint abuse, and inequities within USDA; creation of a “fire wall” between the Office of General Counsel and Civil Rights across USDA; the provision of debt relief; the opportunities to secure acres to farm; and policies that would address civil rights processing and administration throughout USDA.

We understood then that the 2020 Bill had limited, if any chance, of passing in the last legislative session. With the new Senate in place, we have much confidence that The Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2021 will be passed and that many Black farmers will benefit. We are also very pleased to see the cooperation between you and Senator Raphael Warnock with his complementary bill, “Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act,” and its potential inclusion in President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. We are also encouraged by President Biden’s Executive Order entitled, “Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”

We believe this is a new day for justice for Black farmers as well as for USDA women employees who have been severely mistreated. While the bills that you and Senator Warnock have proposed specifically address the Black farmer issue, we see that the systemic changes that you are recommending in The Act of 2021 will serve the needs of other farmers of color and USDA employees.

We are deeply appreciative of your support for Black farmers and women employees of USDA. The Coalition has labored long and hard since 1994 to see justice brought to bear, and now, we see that justice may become a reality, thanks to you, Senator Warren, and Senator Warnock.

Again, thank you for your efforts. We wish to work with you and your staff on a continual basis to ensure that systemic change and civil rights become realities once and for all at USDA and the entire federal government.

Respectfully,

Lawrence Lucas, President Emeritus

USDA Coalition of Minority Employees & Black Farmers Group

www.Agcoalition.org

justice4BFarmers@gmail.com

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 ...

Footprints in the Sand: Influences Toward Becoming an Ally

 Here we are in the middle of February, Black History Month. There is so much to do for the cause of justice and equality across our land. 

Over the last month or so, Shoun and I have talked to two agencies that develop films or distribute them. They both have wanted to know our history and involvement with the Black farmer movement. While Shoun has his own personal narrative, I have mine as well. People are oftentimes surprised to find out that my commitment to the movement goes back to 1994. It is still a curiosity, and perhaps more perhaps, that a white man has been involved with the Black farmer movement for that long, and in a variety of roles, expert witness, advocate, researcher, speaker, mentor to students, and now the documentary. 

Beyond that, my personal journey has been to deconstruct family life, racist upbringing, Jim Crow south, and all. 

People oftentimes ask me how did I come to this place. I wonder myself. All of us have journeys that lead to work against racism and for justice. Most of us do not just fall out of some tree and land where we are. We have influences along the way. Here are some of mine. 

Growing up poor, and in a single parent family after the death of my father, there was an instinct buried in there somewhere for the marginalized. Add to that my mother's mental health issues and hospitalizations, and that shaped me toward kids and folks who experience that shame and all, those who feel, in the words of today, "otherized" and shamed. 

There is the story of my family having a Black woman who took care of us and cooked and all while my parents worked. Her name was Cora. I wish I could talk to her family, find out more about them, and thank them for her life. There's more to that story, but will save that for later. 

My father was a major influence on me in many and contradictory ways. On the one hand, one of his friends was a Black man by the name of Charlie. I'll never know if they were friends in the friend sense of the word or if the relationship was one of convenience as they both worked for the same wealthy guy. At least I know that on occasion Charlie would come to the house and he and my father would sit and drink tea on the front porch. On the other hand, were the words that came out of my father when he watched an all Black television program, "No kid of mine will ever go to school with no n****rs." 

In high school I fell under the influence of Dr. Robert Lee Washington, my first and only Black teacher. In the preparatory days toward integration, Black teachers and kids came over to my white high school and some white teachers went over to Westside High School, a Black school only a few blocks from the white school. The mother of one of my younger brother's friends taught there. I had all of my science classes with him. He had more confidence in my abilities in science than I did. He even invited me to become his lab assistant and with it came a white lab coat. On one occasion,  one of my friends walked by me and under his breath said, "N****r lover." There was a price for associating with a Black teacher. 

A side theme here is that Dr. Washington often played his saxophone in my younger brother's band that played around East Texas. One night I went to hear them rehearse, and there sat Dr. Washington. What a cool moment. He was living out how to connect across races and generations by just playing his sax. 

Then, there is the grocery store event that is frozen in my mind. While my older brother was delivering bread to the local store, I worked there, stocking, checking out, bagging, and the like. On one occasion, a Black woman wanted to speak to the manager. I approached him and said, "Mr. ........, that lady wants to talk to you. " "That's not a lady," he said. "Well, that woman wants to talk to you." "That's not a woman. That's a n****r." And he went off to speak to her with a smile on his face.

The final pivotal event happened at church. Our small town church was holding a "gospel meeting" and we were invited to invite our friends. I took it seriously. I invited the preacher and his family from the Black church of Christ there in town. I still recall the shock on the white men's faces when the Black preacher and some of his church people showed up. They were quickly ushered to the back row. After a few minutes, there was noise from the back of the church building. The men had brought out an old white church pew that was in class room and placed it up front, to the left of the pulpit along the wall. The Black brothers and sisters were invited to sit there. In a house of God, segregated. I was embarrassed, and embarrassed for them. 

My denomination and my church in particular are still not good at social justice notions. We'll feed to poor, cloth the folks who need clothing and all, but we won't talk about racism or Jean Botham's murder or the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, or Breonna Taylor. Did I say that we are a predominantly white church? 

There are longer stories about the Black farmer movement and my involvement. We'll hold that for another day. 

For today, we'll just leave it here, that all of us have in some ways been touched by the hand of God. We tell our stories in ways that honor the movement of God, or we continue to try to figure it all out. Maybe both.

So, for me, for now, in the middle of Black History Month, my life has been shaped by a lot of things that have much to do with the marginalized and much to do with how we treat people whose skin is a different color than ours. 

At each of those events from the past, there was a voice inside that said, "That's not right. That's just not right." With my father, the grocery store manager, the friend who insulted me, or the church leaders, something said, "That's not right." 

What are your stories that have shaped you toward doing good in the world? What have been those times of the whisper of 'that's just not right?"  

Very interested to hear. 

Vilsack's Opening Statement: February 2, 2021

Mr. Vilsack, below is your opening statement. I listened to the entirety of the confirmation hearing and heard nothing about justice, racial equity, fairness to women employees of the forestry service, all of those things that we've written about you and ridden you about. If indeed you are confirmed, we will continue our advocacy in these areas of justice. As Maya Angelou once said, "When somebody tells you who they are the first time, believe them." 

Who are we to believe? The you then or the you now? 

Waymon R. Hinson, Ph.D., researcher, advocate, writer

Opening Statement of Thomas J. Vilsack Before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry – Remarks as Prepared 

Thank you, Madame Chairwoman, Ranking Member Boozman, and members of this Committee.

I am grateful for your time today considering the challenges facing our nation and the many critical decisions before the Senate. I also want to extend my sincerest gratitude to President Biden for nominating me to serve our nation in this critical Cabinet position. I know we all share a deep and profound respect for the women and men working at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and throughout the food supply chain to ensure our nation’s food security and, if confirmed, I will work with you to better protect their health and safety. 

The world and our nation are different today than when I served as Agriculture Secretary in a previous administration. Then, a Great Recession challenged us. Today, the pandemic, racial justice and equity, and climate change must be our priorities. Amid these mounting challenges, we are tasked with delivering fundamental services—safe and nutritious food, clean water and last-mile broadband, energy security, sound infrastructure, and business services. In rural America—which holds a special claim to USDA’s mission—we must build back better, stronger, and more resilient and equitably than ever before. 

If confirmed, I will take bold action and work with this Committee to address discrimination in all its forms across USDA agencies, offices and programs. I will ensure all programming is equitable and work to root out generations of systemic racism that disproportionately affects Black, Hispanic and Indigenous people and other People of Color. I will build the most diverse team in the Department’s history, one that looks like America, and will extend that commitment across all USDA agencies and offices. 

We must also recognize that the pandemic has ravaged our economy and communities. That’s why, if confirmed, I will ensure USDA is doing its part to end the pandemic. Our federal agencies have a responsibility as employers, service providers to the public, and as government-to-government partners with Native and Indigenous communities to bring all resources to bear. That commitment begins by doing all we can to distribute the vaccine so that we can get our economy back on track. It also means following the science, instituting science-based measures and providing access to PPE to protect our workforce and partners. Our USDA food safety inspectors, for example, deserve not only our thanks for ensuring a safe food supply—they deserve knowing we have their backs. 

The pandemic has also exposed the disturbing truth about hunger and nutrition insecurity in America. Today, 30 million adults and as many as 17 million children—more than 1 in 5 Black and Latino households—report they do not have enough food to eat. This, in and of itself, is an epidemic worthy of a coordinated, national response. That’s why, if confirmed, I will work with this Committee and state and non-profit partners to remove barriers to access for anyone who qualifies for federal nutrition assistance— SNAP, WIC, Pandemic-EBT, school meals and more. Our nation also suffers from nutrition insecurity. We must do more to ensure access to the nutritious foods that can protect and promote health. Making stronger, more resilient connections between our nutrition assistance and local and regional food systems is critical to winning this public health battle. 

We have the world’s most productive and innovative farmers. But the farm economy is suffering due to the pandemic, years of consolidation, and natural disasters brought on by climate change. If confirmed, USDA will lead the federal government in building and maintaining new markets in America that diversify rural economies; producing healthy, local and regional foods; investing in renewable energy; creating a thriving biobased manufacturing sector; embracing sustainable and regenerative practices that enhance soil health; and delivering science-based solutions to help mitigate and reduce climate change. We must stop the farm debt cycle and create transparency in pricing throughout the supply chain; expand overseas markets and give U.S. agriculture a level playing field; and harness USDA’s expertise in science and conservation to work with farmers, ranchers and forest owners to create new sources of income tied to their good climate practices. This includes recognizing the important role our National Forests and all forested lands play as the best natural carbon capture that exists. To respond to the challenge climate change presents to conserving, preserving and growing healthier forests, we need a strong commitment to forest management and restoration. 

Finally, when I served as Secretary previously, USDA leapt from near the bottom of the list in job satisfaction to seventh among all Federal departments. Morale was high because we included staff in decision-making, protected scientific integrity, and provided a safe, fair and rewarding workplace for all employees. If confirmed, I commit to this and more. 

In closing, to all the people living and working in rural America—our brightest days are ahead. 

I welcome any questions the Senators may have. 

Thank you.