Let Justice Ring: Moses Pharoah Here and Now

Let Justice Ring: Moses Pharoah Here and Now: Delivered ole Moses That bush was burnin’ He had a lot of doubt But his soul was yearnin’. The Promised Land Was way down t...

Land Loss, Wealth, and Reparations

Dear White People:

The rhetoric has been loud and rowdy since President Biden signed The American Relief Act Plan of 2021. Most of us know very little about what is actually inside the bill, but some of us know about the “Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act,” introduced by Senator Warnock as part of the Bill. This particular part of the bill will remove the debt of minority farmers, classified as Socially Disadvantaged Farmers (or SDF), specifically covering 120% of their debt which includes state and federal taxes on the forgiven amount.

White people, farmers, and congressional folks are calling this discrimination against white farmers, or reparations, or that it will create a divide between Black farmers and white farmers.

For those who want to read just a few words, here is the summary. For those who want more information, please read on. The short verse is that the USDA has a history of systemic racism in which Black farmers (and other minority farmers) have been discriminated against. Such discrimination leads to indebtedness which leads to foreclosures which leads to land loss and the generational wealth which goes with it. Period. End of discussion. Warnock’s bills are timely as more Black people lose their land and as more Black farmers die before justice is realized.

I think we need to get our whiteness under control. That’s perhaps an impossible task. Inherent within the whiteness factor is that all farmers are treated equally by the USDA. Wrong. Very, very wrong. Also, within the whiteness factor is that if a minority farmer is foreclosed upon, then they are just bad farmers. Listen to the 1619 Project and you’ll hear that said by a white sugar cane farmer in Louisiana. Also, inherent within the whiteness factor is the memory lapse, or convenient failure to remember that the overwhelming majority of dollars has gone to the white farmer. Nobody denies that small family farms are suffering, but when you consider that USDA funds go to white farmers and that Trump’s bailout money went to white farmers, the whiteness factor needs to be corrected. More details on that to follow below.

The USDA and its employees are much to blame. Administration after administration turned a blind eye to actions of discrimination on behalf of its employees. A local county agent could act with impunity toward a person of color knowing that there would be no price to pay for discriminating against someone. The system is designed that way. There is an absence of accountability and an absence of heart. The system is designed to protect itself. People, good people, know what’s going on inside the USDA; however, they cannot talk unless they retire because they know that if they do, they will be removed, demoted, or fired. More on this in a future post.

In August, 2019, the USDA Coalition for Minority Employees and the Justice for Black Farmers Group challenged Senator Elizabeth Warren when she was running for president. Black land loss is not explained, we asserted, by heir’s property issues. She invited us to the table, we went, we engaged, we informed, and they learned from us. From that effort came Senator Warren’s plan to address these grievances. You can find her full document here. Later, after Biden and Harris were elected, we received an email from Senator Booker’s staff and informed that the senator was working on a Black farmers justice bill. When we saw the bill, we were elated to read The Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2020 which has now been resubmitted to Congress in the current legislative session. It very much looked like Warren’s work several months earlier. In fact, it was very, very similar. Then, Senator Warnock was elected and since he knew the plight of Black farmers, he inserted his bill within The American Recue Act Plan of 2021 that Biden signed into law recently.

There is more background that white America needs to know.

In 1920, there were approximately 950,000 Black farmers and 5,500,000 white farmers. Blacks owned 22,000 farms, and whites owned 1,380,000 farms. Acreage owned by Black farmers peaked at 19,000,000 (in 1910), and white owned 62,000,000. In 1920, the average acreage for a Black farmer was 51 acres, but for the white farmer it was 166 acres. This is all from census data. It is organized in Hinson (2018). See the picture?

According to USDA census data in 2017, white producers farmed 1,973,006 farms totaling 849,816,725 acres, averaging 431 acres. The market value of products sold was $381,050,061,000; government payments were $8,851,913,000; and net cash farm income was $86,037,984,000. By comparison, Black farm producers farmed 35,470 farms totaling 4,673,140 acres, averaging 132 acres. The market value of products sold was $1,416,256,000; government payments were $58,807,000; and net cash from farm income was $124,459,000. This is all from the 2017 Census of Agriculture. See the picture?

In 1920, Black farmers comprised 1/6 to 1/5 of all farmers, but now they make up only 1.7% of all farmers.

Numbers are compelling.

White farmers and Republican congressional folks are fussing. Thanks to the Environmental Working Group, we can actually look at a variety of matters including who actually received how much of the $425 billion in farm subsidies from commodity, crop insurance, disaster programs and conservation payments paid between 1995 and 2020. That document is found here.

The congressman, Representative Graves, who fussed about it, what does his operation get? Is he being discriminated against? His district in Missouri received $5B during the 1995 to 2020 window. His farm received $661,153, including $57,089 in 2019 alone. Tom Philpott's article tells the larger story. 

And, during the Trump farmer bail out window, white farmers received 97% of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, $6.7 billion going to white farmers, $15 million to Black farmers, $100 million to Latino farmers, $76 million to American Indian farmers, and $17.6 million to Asian American farmers. Check out this document at this link. 

In terms of the Market Facilitation Program, a program designed to help offset the billions lost in Trump’s failed trade war with China, 99% went to white farmers, or an average of $10,674 for white farmers by comparison to $1,074 for Black farmers. White farmers $21 billion and Black farmers $38 million. See this link for more details. 

Nobody doubts that farming is a hard way to make a living. White people fail to realize the extra layer of challenges when farming is done by a Black farmer. Skin color makes things even harder.

The USDA has a myriad of ways of discriminating against Black farmers. From ignoring them to calling them “n****r” to overtly stating that “there’s no money here for you” to changing the numbers on a farm operating loan application to getting the money too little too late to selling rented land out from under them to denying opportunities for disaster payments to setting them up to fail and the list goes on and on and on. See this article and this article for a history of these things and more information. Foreclosures? That’s the way the system is designed to work, i.e., against Black farmers. Read Hinson and Robinson (2008) and Hinson (2018) for more history of the USDA and discrimination. 

Know any white farmers who received similar treatment?

It is estimated by a group at Harvard University that in terms of generational wealth denied Black farmers given that they have lose some 90% of their land, is in the range of $250-$350 billion. 

Some even point to the Pigford Class Action Suit as something that should have benefitted the farmers and paid off the debts. The short verse is that over 22,000 filed a claim under Pigford I, around 15,000 prevailed, and received $50,000. Some received a tax amount of $12,500. They were promised debt relief, but only 371 actually received debt relief. Only 371 farmers out of the 15,000 who won their cases. Lloyd Wright, a member of the Coalition with which I work says that Black farmers are worse off now than they were before. A high-ranking member of the Trump administration reported that 17,000 Black farmers are on the verge of foreclosure.

So, yes, the American Recovery Plan of 2021 signed into law by President Biden does include Senator Raphael Warnock’s “Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act” which contains $4 billion for debt relief and $1 billion for related services. These funds are for any minority farmer who owes money to the USDA via three means: a direct loan, a loan guaranteed by USDA, or a loan for property such as storage tanks. When interest is piled on top of interest, on top of interest, an indebtedness of $14,000 can grow into a couple of hundred thousand in a few decades.

The details are being worked out as we go. One suggestion by an employee within the White House, Dr. Dwayne Goldmon, is a tiered process and will take time. These smells fishy. The plan should be one that is simple and easily understood and can be managed by USDA and the farmers.

Yes, these funds are only for minority farmers. No, white farmers are not beneficiaries of these funds.

You see……white farmers have been the beneficiaries of government aid and support from the very beginning of the USDA, “the people’s department,” but for Black farmers, “the last plantation.”

White farmers have never as a group been discriminated against. In fact, white farmers are the favored face of the USDA. The system works well for white people.

These funds are the first step in leveling the playing field of farming, one that has never been level because policy and procedures, though they are “colorblind,” are administered by employees who are not colorblind. Farming should be the same level of complication for white farmers and for Black farmers. Farming should not be made more difficult because of skin color.

No, this is not reparations; this is justice. And, yes, these bills by Senator Warnock and The Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2021 are considered the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation since The Civil Rights Act of 1964.

So, white people of America, please get your facts straight, and reign in your white indignation.

You do not wear it well.

Let Justice Ring: Way Down South

Let Justice Ring: Way Down South: Several years ago I was in southern Georgia interviewing farmers and families and hearing their stories of discrimination in dealing with th...

Warnock, Booker, Warren Join Black Farmers in $5B Debt Relief

 

The Cross and the Lynching Tree: Pondering Such These Days

I was struck last night in our Bible study Zoom meeting. We discussed the Lucan account of Jesus’ crucifixion. We talked about the brutality of it, the most brutal form of punishment human beings have ever come up with, so said Josephus, the historian of old.

The Romans had this down to a few painful rituals that started with the convicted person forced to carry his own cross beam and to do so naked. Then, to be hung up on that cross beam and hoisted into the air, with or without nails in the forearms or wrists and nails in the feet with each foot atop the other. The person either died from blood loss or from asphyxiation.

While we talked about the theology of the crucifixion and the salvation that Jesus’ sacrifice brings to believers, my mind drifted to another theme.

And the people watched. The people gathered. Crucifixion as public spectacle. “And the people stood watching.”

America knows that sort of thing. Well over 4,000 African Americans, men, women, and children, born and unborn, lynched. We have well preserved the photos of the events. Post cards were printed to memorialize the event, sold for a nickel so a person could write about it to a relative back home or across the state. Lynching as public spectacle, lynching as public theater. Lynching as social control.

For African Americans it was seen as a threat. Farm too much land. Somebody is going to get lynched. Your grocery story is too successful, by comparison to the white family’s store down the way, somebody is going to get lynched.  Argue with a white man on the streets of town, somebody is going to get lynched. Argue about the price on the cotton crop, somebody is going to get lynched. Whistle at a woman, or have it talked about that he did, he will get lynched. Get accused of a crime, which he did or did not do, and without due process, a mob is going to lynch that man. Lynchings were spectacle, they were punitive, and they were designed to keep Black people under control. Some lynchings were by men in white hoods. Other lynchings were in broad daylight. Some lynchings took place over open flames.

And the crowds watched. The people stared. The kids got out of school. Parents brought their children. Degradation upon degradation upon degradation.

Jesus was lynched by the leaders of the day who used the Romans, whom they hated, for their own nefarious ends.

Black people were lynched in broad day light or under the shadow of darkness. And then the lynchers went to church. Some men served their white churches as deacons.

The crowd watched as Jesus was crucified. The crowd watched as that Black man was lynched.

And they went home. Or, they celebrated their religious rituals.

One more insurrection thwarted. One more Black person used to keep whiteness in control.

One more self-justification for wrongs done to innocent people.

The cross and the lynching tree. Powerful weapons of power and control. Time to read Dr. James Cone again to make sense out of all of this.

And then it’ll be time to contemplate how we “lynch” Black people today. Take their land and livelihoods say Black farmers. Steal their proprietary information says a Black author. Remove her from office says a Black educator.

Their words, not mine.

Eddie and Dorothy, Senators Warnock, Stabenow, and Booker

By now, many of you know that the Senate has passed President Biden's COVID-19 recovery act, or The American Recovery Plan. The vote was split along partisan lines, 50/49 with one senator leaving to attend a family funeral which saved Vice President Harris from casting the deciding vote.

Within the bill there are numerous things that impact many of us which have to do with children and economics of our families. The items that are most crucial to me these days has to do with debt relief and supports for minority farmers who have experienced much discrimination from the USDA. Of the total sum of $5 billion, $4 billion is dedicated to debt relief to Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and other minority farmers.

No, Senator Graham is absolutely wrong. This is not a reparations act. And, the 120%, Mr. Graham, amount has to do with taxes that are placed upon farmers when debt is forgiven. The best way I can describe this is this: a Black farmer borrows some money, but it is too little and too late, and there may or may not be a disaster from which he or she gets no relief, but when the crop comes in, or doesn't come in, the loan is due and payable. In most instances, that debt can be restructured or written off, but not so with minority farmers. For white farmers, yes, but others, no. So, much of the indebtedness is from interest on top of interest on top of interest on top of interest. A small loan turns into an overwhelming debt with the passage of time. And, along the way, many have lost their farms to foreclosure. They will not be getting those back.

Or, when the farm home plan is to be submitted to the county office, the FSA officer demands that the plan be submitted in pencil, and then a plan that "cash flows" no longer cash flows because he changed the numbers. These are only a few of what I've heard and seen.

At this link, you can read the entire debate in The Congressional Record, but save yourself some time, and go to page 40 where Senator Stabenow speaks, or to page 49 where Senator Booker speaks. There is much substantive information there that most of us do not know. At the end of Senator Booker's testimony, he tells the story of Eddie and Dorothy Wise. I am honored to have written their story for this effort. I hope Mr. Wise and his family are pleased with my efforts in telling the brutal stories of mistreatment at the hands of the USDA from the top in DC to the bottom at the county level.

The Coalition, the Warnock Bill, and the Fight for Black Farmers

The USDA Coalition for Minority Employees has been in the fight for justice for Black farmers and women employees of the USDA since 1994. Led by the passionate and forceful presence of Lawrence Lucas as president emeritus after he retired, the Coalition is still a force in the Black Farmer Movement. The Coalition which includes well over 100 individuals and groups was there when Senator Warren blamed Black land loss on the heirs' property problem. She responded quickly and graciously when we pushed back and said, "No, it is must more substantial than that. Look at the USDA and its egregious management of policies for farm operating loans, debt restructuring, and other matters." And she listened and developed a strong policy.

Then, Senator Sanders took up the fight with his policy. Then, Mike Bloomberg took up the fight. The Coalition was there with both of these candidates for president.

Then, as Joe Biden became president, his policy team took up the fight. Weak though it was, combined with his equity plan and other things, he was moving forward toward eliminating racism across the federal government. The Coalition was there advocating for an expansion of ideas.

Then, Warren's plan became The Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2020, authored by Booker and Warren and Gillibrand. Though it did not see the light of day in 2020, it was reintroduced with stronger support in 2021, this time with Warnock. Then, Senator Warnock introduced his "Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act," and that bill was added to the President's COVID relief act by the House Ag Committee.

Now, the President's COVID-relief act is up for debate and vote later this weekend. I will watch with much interest. We have communicated with Warren, Booker, and Warnock as to what we think hangs in the balance. We are pleased that they agree.

They all know, and we all know, though white America does not know, the degree of Black land loss since 1910, and how that land loss has diminished the generational wealth that Black farmers can pass on to their children. These senators know that there are less than 45,000 Black farmers in our country now, and that those farmers are continuing to loss their land in a large number of egregious ways.

This bill that is being debated by the Senate today can give a new start to Black farmers by wiping their debt clean, debt that is primarily interest upon interest based upon discriminatory actions of the USDA. It will provide much more to Black farmers and other minority farmers who have been tossed aside in the brutality of things.

Last night I was on a conference call with Black farmers from Georgia. The call was led by Tracy McCurty of Black Belt Justice and Acres of Ancestry. It was a strong meeting, full of energy and passion. I was moved by the large number of Black farmers, women and men, who are still fighting against insurmountable odds for the right to farm, to maintain their dignity as farmers upon the land, much of which has been in their families since the days of Reconstruction.

So, yes, it's time to wipe the slate clean, time to give Black farmers and other minority farmers a new day, and time for America to face its racism in the USDA, better known as "the last plantation."

I'll be watching for how senators in my state vote. I know how Ted Cruz and John Cornyn will vote. Shame on them. Maybe they'll surprise me, but I don't think so

It's time America, to address our history of racism. A good place to start is the USDA by creating systemic change there such that lawyers no long run civil rights, where there is a smooth path toward filing complaints and having them adjudicated when wrongs are done, and where policies and procedures are equally applied.

For Just Such a Time as This

 This morning I re-read Mordecai's words to Esther, "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" This reading following a beautiful story of President Obama meeting with Reverend Billy Graham at Mr. Graham's home in North Carolina, and ending the conversation with praying for each other. I can only imagine that scene, and the words from Mr. Graham to President Obama, "I am proud of you." 

Over the last few days I have been reading transcripts of interviews with Black farmers and poring over summary information about their injustices at the hands of the USDA county committee and others. 

One of the interviews I read was a painful one. It was also one of the shortest. I met the farmer in his home, in his living room, with his caretaker at hand, and him lying in a hospital bed. He wanted to tell his story. I wanted to hear his story, but because of his weakened condition, it needed to be crisp, clean, and brief. He was recovering from surgery and was soon to die of cancer. It was a holy moment. 

He had been set up to fail by the local FSA county director. There was a collusion between the local bank, the FSA county official, and the tractor implement business. They knew that they were foreclosing on him before he and his partner knew it. It was a story of gross misconduct. He lost not only his equipment but his leased land, and most painful of all, his own hard-owned land. 

At the end of the conversation, I closed as I always did, thank you for sharing your story with me. I will promise to tell it in places and spaces where you don't want to go or can't go, because America needs to know about you and your story." Something to that effect. It's in the transcript right over there. 

Then, this week, there are opportunities to tell those stories. The House has passed an enormous COVID-19 relief bill, and in it there are funds for debt forgiveness for Black farmers and other minority farmers. There are funds even allocated to make redress for farmers who have lost their lands, not of their own doing but the doing of the USDA and its racist system. 

So, as part of a group of advocates, I have worked with a particular senator's office on behalf of Black farmers. We have worked as a group on The Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2021. Now, we are gathering stories of Black farmers whose lands have been foreclosed upon by the USDA. We have gathered six incredible stories. The group has selected one of the stories that I wrote for inclusion for the senator to use just in case there is push-back from the Republicans on this bill as they debate over the next few days. 

So, this morning I am feeling it. A farmer who has had his land taken away from him. He has had to bury his beloved wife. He lives with his son and daughter in law with declining mental and physical abilities. One misdeed after another led to the complete demise of his farming operation. We met them when they were younger and strong and vigorous. Now she is deceased, he is in his declining years with bad health, and we have prepared his story for the telling in the Senate. 

For just such a time as this. Let justice ring. Let it be shouted from the sacred halls of the Senate. May in ring through the corridors of that sacred building. May this African American farmer and other Black farmers finally see the justice that they deserve, not to be treated better than the white farmer, but to receive the same fair treatment as all other farmers, all other citizens of this great, yet to realize its potential country. 

Yes, for such a time as this. 

I'm Just a Layman in Pursuit of Justice: Waymon and Charla Hinson's Stor...

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This is a 5:22 edited video of a longer, 1 1/2 hour or so interview. Thanks to Cina Catteau for her editorial skills. Thanks also to Todd Catteau, pulpit minister, Park Avenue Church of Christ, Denison, Texas for the role that this video played in the Sunday morning service.