A Revealing Roundtable Discussion

Last night on blogtalk radio, a significant conversation was held. You can listen to that hour and a half conversation here. There were five significant persons on the radio. To follow the conversation, I imagined that there was a large, round table in the middle of the room. Sitting on one side of the table was Lawrence Lucas, President Emeritus, USDA Coalition of Minority Employees, and Representative, Justice for Black Farmers Group. Marti Oakley is the host of the show which is sponsored by Marcel Reid and the National Whistleblowers Association. 

Sitting around the table were Kathryn Joyce, Bryce Stucki, and Nate Rosenberg, author of "The 'Machine That Eats Up Black Farmland'" that was recently published. And, Emma Scott and Nate Rosenberg who along with others recently published the Harvard Brief, "Supporting Civil Rights at USDA: Opportunities to Reform the USDA Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights." Other authors of the Harvard Brief are  Emily Broad Leib, Ava Cilia, and Merve Ciplak, all from the Food Law and Policy Clinic, Harvard Law School. 

You'll notice that Nate Rosenberg is author of both the popular level article and the academic article. 

These professionals were led in a roundtable type of discussion by Lawrence Lucas. I could imagine sitting there. Topics included the history of the Office of Civil Rights at USDA, how it is supposed to operate and how it in fact operates. Stories were told of named and un-named insiders who told tragic stories of how civil rights complaints are handled. One former employee provided a detailed description of how employees within a department that is supposed to protect the rights of those who work at USDA and those who are recipients of services are supposed to be treated. 

Gross mistreatment is an understatement. Not only did this panel review the literature and policies of USDA's Office of Civil Rights, they also interviewed Black farmers. 

Stories merge into a cohesive whole of 1) nobody cares, 2) all pretend to care, 3) people are shuffled here and there, 4) OCR is a dumping ground for disgruntled employees, and 5) Black farmers are treated with malfeasance. 

Lawsuits are coming as white farmers are screaming "discrimination" against Senator Warnock's bills, famously known as 1005 and 1006 within the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 which President Biden signed into law recently. 

White farmers have been treated very, very well. See my "Dear White People" post from recent days here on the blog. 

This is one of the best interviews I've ever heard on this program. It's an hour and a half long, but would be well worth the investment of time and energy. 

The Justice of Your Cause

As most of the readers and followers of this blog know, Shoun Hill and I are in the midst of a two-year period of development of the documentary on the Black farmer movement.  We are specifically focusing upon 15 farmers and families who against all odds, many seemingly insurmountable odds, faced off against the USDA, metaphorically and perhaps not so metaphorically as "David" against "Goliath." These cases were settled (though two were settled and then unsettled) administratively which meant out of sight, no court battles, and little publicity.

They led ultimately to what became the Pigford Class Action Suit which was certified in 1999. Without these farmers and families, there would not have been a Black Farmer Movement.

Shoun and I have been inspired by this journey and committed to telling the stories of pain and suffering and resilience for years.  From what Shoun said the other night on the blog radio talk show, his interest goes back to graduate school in Ohio.  My interest goes back to that afternoon in the Spring, 1994 when the attorney for Black farmers called me.

In the early morning hours of a day or so ago a text from the psalmist David caught my eye.  I found it again this morning and am drawn to it and its applications.  Join me in that text, if you will: Psalm 37:5, 6:  

                                   Commit your way to the Lord; 
                                               trust in Him and He will do this: 

                                   He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, 

                                              the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

That text was written a long time ago by the poet King David.  No doubt many can see many applications in that text.  I am not alone.

The cause for which Shoun and I are working is indeed a just cause.  People hurt by people working for a powerful institution.  People at the lower levels of a governmental agency, with power in their hands, hearts, and pens,  can cause unspeakable pain and suffering in the lives, souls, and families of those committed to this country, their families, and to farming. That someone at that level of the bureaucracy could reek havoc is an injustice that has no words.

These are not Shoun's and Waymon's stories.  These are the stories of the farmers and families in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and other states as well who fought and won.  Or, they fought, won, and lost. They won their cases, but the stress of dealing with the USDA wore their bodies and families out. Some died early. All wore the scars of the battle. Fighting racism is a costly fight. 

Yes, we are committed to the Lord, yes, we trust Him, and, yes, we are not asking for our righteousness to shine like the sun in the middle of the day, but we do rest in His promise, that he will make the justice of our cause to shine like the noonday sun.

That is bright.  The sun at that time of day is very, very bright.

We humbly ask God to do what He is promising in this text.