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Dear Mr. President, We Gave You the White House, You Gave Us Tom Vilsack

November 2, 2022

President Joe Biden

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20050

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing this letter to you because you have not answered our letter of September 28, 2022. That letter is below.

On behalf of Black farmers and other Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers, we encourage you to have Tom Vilsack and staff move swiftly and efficiently to cancel debt for Black farmers. We encourage you to initiate processes that would cancel taxes for recipients of debt cancellation. Additionally, we request a meeting with you to discuss these and systemic changes that need to be made within USDA.

One example that told us how USDA has pointed in the wrong direction was the establishment of an Equity Commission. Their job is to research what has already been addressed. The abhorrent history of USDA is chronicled in a myriad of documents all the way back to the 1920s. To add insult, all recommendations must be cleared and accessible to Tom Vilsack…..the fox watching the hen house.

We, then, see Tom Vilsack’s actions and inactions. We see that Black agrarianism is wilting under the withering heat of racist strategies, consistent with a plantation culture. Time is of the essence. We encourage you to accept his resignation. We desire you to appoint immediately someone more attuned to issues of Black farmers across this country and bring about systemic change at USDA.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA of 2022) was a good bill; however, its intent has been bastardized by Tom Vilsack and his leadership. That responsibility rests squarely with Secretary Vilsack. He recently released a document asserting that $800 million from the $3.1 billion had already been released to bring financial security to 13,000 distressed borrowers and that $500 million more will soon be released which will help another 23,000 borrowers.  We are certain that Black farmers are receiving little if any of these funds. We know from credible sources that there are approximately 3,100 Black farmers whose indebtedness is roughly $210 million. We also have been told that heirs property issues now are front and center for him, not debt cancellation.

Our network has informed us that only ONE Black farmer has received total debt cancellation. And now, he has to worry about paying the taxes.

There is no provision within the Bill for the payment of taxes like there was under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA of 2021) because the Republicans removed it from the Bill. Since the intent of the IRA of 2022 was to relieve the indebtedness of Black farmers, cover their losses, and pay their taxes while also giving them a new lease on life, we ask for you to extend your authority via an Executive Order that cancels taxes. Otherwise, many of the farmers will be behind financially once more rather than being given a new start. We expect not doing so will have a devastating impact on Black farmers’ loss of land and generational wealth.

While debt cancellation is front and center for us at this point in our history, we also are deeply concerned regarding rooting out racism at USDA, creating systemic change within all offices and agencies, and instituting accountability and transparency. These issues have been side-stepped and ignored for decades too long.

In a recent MSNBC interview, Dr. Eddie Glaude tells us who we are as a Nation. It was a brutal yet truthful deconstruction of our country. You can do better. You can also lead USDA out of its “last plantation” mindset into a new Department that serves everyone and not just the white farmers. Discrimination wounds people and destroys families and dreams. The award-winning documentary, “I’m Just a Layman in Pursuit of Justice:” Black Farmers Fight Against USDA, produced by Shoun Hill and Dr. Waymon Hinson, explains it.

Black people of this country delivered the White House to you. Our loyalties are not blind. They are based on the legitimacy of our concerns. Democracy, and with it, equity, for all of God’s children hang in the balance. We are deeply concerned that how the Black farmer issue in Georgia is being mishandled will continue to impact our people. Your silence is interpreted as turning your back on Black farmers as you support Vilsack. There are “political consequences” for both 2022 and 2024 for ignoring or taking for granted the Black vote.

These are our expectations: first, remove Tom Vilsack from his leadership position; second, instruct the USDA team to implement debt cancellation more quickly and efficiently; third, cancel taxes for recipients of debt cancellation; fourth, resolve the backlog of unresolved program and employment complaints; and fifth, meet with a group of Black Farmer Movement representatives to discuss initiating changes within USDA that will bring about systemic change.

On the strength of the Black vote....we gave you the White House. In turn, you give us Tom Vilsack. This is not the justice we voted for.

We are eager to discuss these matters and more with you. We look forward to meeting you very soon. These issues should not be ignored and addressed immediately by your administration.

Respectfully,

Lawrence Lucas
President Emeritus, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees
Representative, Justice for Black Farmers Group
LawrLCL@aol.com
856-910-2399