Fighting to Grow: Efforts to end systemic discrimination against Black
farmers continue
[link removed]
Dwayne Fatherree, SPLC Investigative Reporter | Read the full piece
here
[link removed]
Friend,
By any definition, Kendall Rae Johnson is an exceptional child.
It all started when her parents saved some collard green stems and
planted them for a garden in honor of her great-grandmother.
"A week later she came in and said, 'Hey, we got something
growing,'" said her mother, Ursula Johnson. "Then
she was inspired. She planted cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers. She
watched it, touched it, made sure there were no bugs. That was the
beginning."
Now, at the tender age of 6, Kendall Rae is the youngest certified
farmer in Georgia history, fulfilling those requirements last fall.
"I like playing in the dirt," she said.
What sets Kendall apart from other children is her fascination with
- and passion for - learning about raising plants and
animals. A century ago, that would not have been so unusual for an
African American child. Then, Black farmers made up 14% of the
producers in the United States. As of 2017, that number had dropped to
just 1.4%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
(USDA's) most recent agricultural census
[link removed]
. They also lost 90% of their property
[link removed]
, some 16 million acres worth up to $350 billion, during that time,
compared with just 2% for white farmers.
Like all people who work the soil, Black farmers have had to contend
with Mother Nature and her whims. But unlike their white counterparts,
they have had to fight a war on two fronts. While the federal
government has provided loan and subsidy programs on a large scale to
farmers, studies have shown that the bulk of that aid has historically
gone to white farmers
[link removed]
and has been largely withheld from Black farmers.
And that is not just an issue from days gone by. Even today,
government programs intended to help farms survive the market effects
of the COVID-19 pandemic have largely missed Black farmers. In fact,
efforts aimed directly at socially disadvantaged producers -
those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or
cultural bias within American society - are tied up in a Texas
court, where a trial judge ruled that programs aimed at rectifying
more than a century of discrimination are in and of themselves
discriminatory.
"(T)he Government puts forward no evidence of intentional
discrimination by the USDA in at least the past decade,"
according to the court's opinion on the matter. "To find
intentional discrimination, then, requires a logical leap, as well as
a leap back in time. In sum, the Government's evidence falls
short of demonstrating a compelling interest, as any past
discrimination is too attenuated from any present-day lingering
effects to justify race-based remedial action by Congress."
Basically, the court has ruled that there is a time limit on how far
back Congress can go to remediate intentional discrimination by the
government. This has enormous implications for other kinds of
reparations as well.
READ MORE
[link removed]
In solidarity,
Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center
The SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond,
working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy,
strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of
all people.
Friend, will you make a gift to help the SPLC fight for
justice and equity in courts and combat white supremacy?
DONATE
[link removed]
--
Unsubscribe [link removed] | Privacy Policy [link removed] | Contact Us [link removed]
Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104
334.956.8200 // splcenter.org
[link removed]
Copyright 2022
