FACT SHEET on BLACK FARMERS CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
In June 2008, Congress passed "The Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008" (PL 110-246) which contains Section 14012 that provides a new opportunity for “late claim filers” in the Pigford Black Farmers Class Action Lawsuit to have their cases heard. This section permits Black farmers to file a legal action in the same court (U. S. District Court in Washington, D. C.) that heard the original case.
To be included in this new case (Pigford 2), farmers must meet two basic “tests”. First, they must have filed a “late claim” in the original case (Pigford 1) and second they must meet the requirements to be part of the class in the original case. A group of lawyers for Black farmers have already filed a case in the D. C. District Court. Some of the final decisions on the interpretation and implementation of these provisions in the 2008 Farm Bill will depend the decisions and rulings of the judge in this new case.
The first test is where are you on the “time line” of this case. The priority consideration goes to those Black farmers who filed a late claim petition between October 12, 1999 and September 15, 2000. Most of these 65,000 farmers had their late claim denied by Michael Lewis, Chief Arbitrator in the case and Section 14012 of the 2008 Farm Bill was designed to override these denials and give Black farmers another chance to have their cases heard.
The judge will determine how far to extend the definition of a late filer in the case (please see the time lines below). Those who filed by the late claim deadline of September 15, 2000 have the best chance. Those who filed after this date will have to depend on the decision of the judge in the case. Those who did not file a late claim with the Claims Facilitator in Portland, Oregon, and did not receive a tracking number, have a more limited chance, which is subject to the judge’s rulings in the case.
Farmers may call the Claims Facilitator in Portland, Oregon at 800-646-2873 to determine if they filed a late claim, the date of their claim and their tracking number, if one was issued to the farmer.
The second test for farmers is that they must meet the requirements of the class in the original Pigford lawsuit. They must be able to answer “yes” to all three questions, which form the basis of their actual claim in the case. These three questions are:
1. Are you an African- American who farmed, or attempted to farm at anytime between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 1996?
2. Between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 1996, did you apply or attempt to participate in a farm loan program or other benefit program with USDA?
3. Between January 1, 1981 and July 1, 1997, did you make a verbal or written complaint of discrimination against USDA concerning treatment you received in the application process? The discrimination complaint may have been presented directly to USDA or to some other public official.
Time Lines in the Pigford Lawsuit (Pigford 1 and Pigford 2)
October 9, 1998 – Class Certification in Pigford granted by the Court
April 14, 1999 – Consent Decree Approved
The court approves the Consent Decree (what the parties agreed to in the
settlement) after a Fairness Hearing.
October 12, 1999 – Deadline for Claim Sheets to be Submitted
Six months after approval of Consent Decree: 21,776 individuals filed a claim by
this date and were considered eligible by the facilitator.
July 14, 2000 – Court Ruling for Late Filers
The court ruled that individuals could send in an application to provide information about the extraordinary circumstances (as spelled out in Section 5g of the Consent Decree) as to why they missed the October 12, 1999 deadline. The deadline for the late filers was September 15, 2000.
September 15, 2000 – Late Filers “Application” Deadline
For those who did not submit a claim by October 12, 1999, there was an opportunity to submit an “application/affidavit” to the arbitrator to explain why the October 1999 deadline was missed. The person had to convince the arbitrator of the extraordinary circumstances that prevented him or her from submitting a claim. 65,000 farmers filed during this period and all were given tracking nukbers by the arbitrator.
October 15, 2000 - Additional Late Filers
10,000 additional people sent in an “application/affidavit” to the aribitrator 30 days after the September 15, 2000 deadline for late filers some of whom said their form had been sent on time. All of these were given tracking numbers.
2003 - Arbitrator Ends Providing Tracking Numbers
Farmers continued to call the arbitrator and were given tracking numbers until 2003.
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Showing posts with label White Farmer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label White Farmer. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Has Civil Rights NAACP MLK Heritage turned into a goverment backdoor land grab USDA President Obama Appointments Radicals Cheats Dishonest Brokers Throughout American The ACORN plan in the deep south
Land ownership is a vital asset to all communities. Within the last century, African-American land ownership has rapidly declined. Comparing the U.S. Agriculture Census data on African-American farmland ownership for 1910 and 1997, it shows a drastic decline from its peak of 15 million acres in 1910 to 2.4 million acres in 1997. A recent study estimated that in the early 20th century, rural landownership among African-American farmers and non-farmers was between 16 and 19 million acres (Gilbert, J., 2002). The 1999 Agricultural Economics and Land Ownership Survey (AELOS), which assessed private rural landownership across race and use (i.e. farming, forestry, etc.), found that there are currently 68,000 African-American rural landowners and they own a total of approximately 7.7 million acres of land, less than 1% of all privately owned rural land in the United States. (AELOS, 1999). Sixty percent (60%) of which is owned by non-farmers. (AELOS, 1999). However, this acreage is valued at $14 billion. (AELOS, 1999). With rural landownership clearly being a significant economic resource base in the African-American community controls, why do African-Americans continue to lose their land?
COMMON LEGAL CONTRIBUTORS TO LAND LOSS
The Federation has identified 7 common causes of African-American land loss:
1. Heir Property Ownership.
When a person dies without a will, or other type of estate plan, state law controls who can rightfully inherit and how much they can inherit. Land that is passed down to heirs according to state law is commonly known as heir property. If the deceased owned land before death, the legally recognized rightful heirs will each inherit an undivided, fractional ownership interest in the land. Their interests are fractional because each co-owner has an individual, partial interest in the whole. Their interests are undivided because the heirs do not have separate deeds to their ownership interest. In fact, no heir can assume that his/her interest correlates to a specific area of the land until AFTER the land has been subdivided. The size of each heir’s fractional ownership interest depends on several factors - How many generations removed is an heir from the deceased?; and, How many heirs can rightfully take their inheritance at a specific point in time?
Heir property ownership is often the precursor to land loss. With each passing generation of heir property owners who die without a will or other estate plan, a new generation of heirs inherits ownership of the land. Typically, each successive generation is larger than the previous one. As a result, the next generation of landowners’ ownership interests are smaller, yet the number of interest holders has increased. With numerous co-owners, the following can occur, which can impede proper management of the land:
* Heirs do not live on or near the land;
* Heirs do not liver near each other;
* Heirs do not know one another;
* Heirs do not how to locate one another;
* Heirs do not have a connection to the land;
These common situations can make it difficult, if not impossible for the land to be properly managed. Lack of a land management plan and/or improper implementation of a land management plan can lead to land loss.
In some cases, the land is being managed, but this responsibility rests in the hands of one heir, or a small group of heirs, with the other heirs enjoying an unearned benefit. Those few who do invest in their family’s land, however, can face many obstacles to properly managing it. Without specific authorization by the other heirs, many land use decisions (i.e. harvesting timber, leasing, building a structure on the land, etc.) can be made ONLY by unanimous consent.
2. Lack of Estate Planning.
Estate planning is the process of arranging for the distribution and management of your estate after you die. An example of an estate plan is a will. Estate planning is important tool for many reasons. One, you are prepared for the unexpected ? incompetency and death. Two, when you have an estate plan, you can prevent the creation of heir property. And, three, if you are currently an heir property owner, you may potentially be able to prevent further fractionation of it.
Despite the advantages to having an estate plan, very few African-Americans have an estate plan. In an U.S. Senate-commissioned study conducted by the Emergency Land Fund in the early 1980s, it was found that approximately 80% of African-American rural landowners did not have an estate plan.
3. Tax Sale.
A tax sale is the public sale of property to recoup the amount of unpaid taxes on land. One of the challenges of owning heir property is that you may not know who is paying the taxes, or if the property taxes are delinquent. Therefore, keeping track of who pays the taxes, and whether they are current are important.
4. Partition Sale.
Partition sales are a common way African-American landowners have lost, and continue to lose, their land. A partition sale is a court-ordered sale of land. With a partition sale, the highest bidder becomes the owner. The proceeds from the sale are then distributed among all the co-owners of the property according to the size of their fractional interest. The proceeds, however, are not distributed to the heirs until after the cost of conducting the sale, attorney fees, and any other sale-related expenses are deducted. While a partition sale is the less cumbersome means to clear the problem of multiple ownership, there are several disadvantages to partition sales because:
It is often difficult for heir property owners to outbid land speculators and developers who may bid at the sale.
An interest holder in heir property does not need to obtain the consent of the other heirs before seeking the partition sale of the family land.
5. Voluntary Sales.
The frequency of land sales between African-Americans is low. The 1980 Emergency Land Fund study found that when African-Americans sell their land to someone outside their family, they tend to sell it to non-minorities (ELF, 1984). Of the heir property surveyed, 21% were sold to African-Americans outside the family, and 30% were sold to Whites (ELF, 1984), and 38% were sold to family members. These statistics have remained fairly constant. Currently, there is no definitive explanation for why voluntary land sales to those outside the African-American community occur, however, the Emergency Land Fund’s 1980 study cited "economic stress; need to prevent foreclosures; family pressure; and, external pressures" as some of the reasons for this occurrence (ELF, 1984).
6. Other Contributors to Land Loss.
In December 2001, the Associated Press released a series of articles entitled "Torn From the Land" which documents the history of African-American land loss in the South. These articles chronicle the violence, exploitation and injustice African-Americans in the South endured in an effort to become and remain landowners. Investigators for this series interviewed more than 1,000 people and examined public records. Their research found 107 documented land takings in 13 Southern and border states. Their findings were extraordinary. From the 107 documented cases, more than 24,000 acres of farm and timberland were taken, including smaller properties like stores and city lots. Further, over half of the documented cases were violent land takings (57), and the others involved trickery and legal exploitation. From the senseless murders of African-American landowners, to the public sale of family land, African-American land ownership has rapidly declined in the 20th century, and continues to steadily decline in the 21st century.
7. Inaccessibility to Legal Counsel.
The need for attorneys to assist heir property owners, particularly those who wish to maintain ownership, is critical to curbing the crisis of African-American land loss in the United States. There are organizations that have existed for some time that are doing their part in meeting this need. The Federation of Southern Cooperatives has a summer legal externship program designed to expose law students to the issue of land loss. The Land Tenure Center’s Summer Legal Externship Program provides an opportunity for law students to learn about the struggle to retain land in African-American, Hispanic, and Native American communities. Other organizations, like the Land Loss Prevention Project, host law students each summer.
COMMON LEGAL CONTRIBUTORS TO LAND LOSS
The Federation has identified 7 common causes of African-American land loss:
1. Heir Property Ownership.
When a person dies without a will, or other type of estate plan, state law controls who can rightfully inherit and how much they can inherit. Land that is passed down to heirs according to state law is commonly known as heir property. If the deceased owned land before death, the legally recognized rightful heirs will each inherit an undivided, fractional ownership interest in the land. Their interests are fractional because each co-owner has an individual, partial interest in the whole. Their interests are undivided because the heirs do not have separate deeds to their ownership interest. In fact, no heir can assume that his/her interest correlates to a specific area of the land until AFTER the land has been subdivided. The size of each heir’s fractional ownership interest depends on several factors - How many generations removed is an heir from the deceased?; and, How many heirs can rightfully take their inheritance at a specific point in time?
Heir property ownership is often the precursor to land loss. With each passing generation of heir property owners who die without a will or other estate plan, a new generation of heirs inherits ownership of the land. Typically, each successive generation is larger than the previous one. As a result, the next generation of landowners’ ownership interests are smaller, yet the number of interest holders has increased. With numerous co-owners, the following can occur, which can impede proper management of the land:
* Heirs do not live on or near the land;
* Heirs do not liver near each other;
* Heirs do not know one another;
* Heirs do not how to locate one another;
* Heirs do not have a connection to the land;
These common situations can make it difficult, if not impossible for the land to be properly managed. Lack of a land management plan and/or improper implementation of a land management plan can lead to land loss.
In some cases, the land is being managed, but this responsibility rests in the hands of one heir, or a small group of heirs, with the other heirs enjoying an unearned benefit. Those few who do invest in their family’s land, however, can face many obstacles to properly managing it. Without specific authorization by the other heirs, many land use decisions (i.e. harvesting timber, leasing, building a structure on the land, etc.) can be made ONLY by unanimous consent.
2. Lack of Estate Planning.
Estate planning is the process of arranging for the distribution and management of your estate after you die. An example of an estate plan is a will. Estate planning is important tool for many reasons. One, you are prepared for the unexpected ? incompetency and death. Two, when you have an estate plan, you can prevent the creation of heir property. And, three, if you are currently an heir property owner, you may potentially be able to prevent further fractionation of it.
Despite the advantages to having an estate plan, very few African-Americans have an estate plan. In an U.S. Senate-commissioned study conducted by the Emergency Land Fund in the early 1980s, it was found that approximately 80% of African-American rural landowners did not have an estate plan.
3. Tax Sale.
A tax sale is the public sale of property to recoup the amount of unpaid taxes on land. One of the challenges of owning heir property is that you may not know who is paying the taxes, or if the property taxes are delinquent. Therefore, keeping track of who pays the taxes, and whether they are current are important.
4. Partition Sale.
Partition sales are a common way African-American landowners have lost, and continue to lose, their land. A partition sale is a court-ordered sale of land. With a partition sale, the highest bidder becomes the owner. The proceeds from the sale are then distributed among all the co-owners of the property according to the size of their fractional interest. The proceeds, however, are not distributed to the heirs until after the cost of conducting the sale, attorney fees, and any other sale-related expenses are deducted. While a partition sale is the less cumbersome means to clear the problem of multiple ownership, there are several disadvantages to partition sales because:
It is often difficult for heir property owners to outbid land speculators and developers who may bid at the sale.
An interest holder in heir property does not need to obtain the consent of the other heirs before seeking the partition sale of the family land.
5. Voluntary Sales.
The frequency of land sales between African-Americans is low. The 1980 Emergency Land Fund study found that when African-Americans sell their land to someone outside their family, they tend to sell it to non-minorities (ELF, 1984). Of the heir property surveyed, 21% were sold to African-Americans outside the family, and 30% were sold to Whites (ELF, 1984), and 38% were sold to family members. These statistics have remained fairly constant. Currently, there is no definitive explanation for why voluntary land sales to those outside the African-American community occur, however, the Emergency Land Fund’s 1980 study cited "economic stress; need to prevent foreclosures; family pressure; and, external pressures" as some of the reasons for this occurrence (ELF, 1984).
6. Other Contributors to Land Loss.
In December 2001, the Associated Press released a series of articles entitled "Torn From the Land" which documents the history of African-American land loss in the South. These articles chronicle the violence, exploitation and injustice African-Americans in the South endured in an effort to become and remain landowners. Investigators for this series interviewed more than 1,000 people and examined public records. Their research found 107 documented land takings in 13 Southern and border states. Their findings were extraordinary. From the 107 documented cases, more than 24,000 acres of farm and timberland were taken, including smaller properties like stores and city lots. Further, over half of the documented cases were violent land takings (57), and the others involved trickery and legal exploitation. From the senseless murders of African-American landowners, to the public sale of family land, African-American land ownership has rapidly declined in the 20th century, and continues to steadily decline in the 21st century.
7. Inaccessibility to Legal Counsel.
The need for attorneys to assist heir property owners, particularly those who wish to maintain ownership, is critical to curbing the crisis of African-American land loss in the United States. There are organizations that have existed for some time that are doing their part in meeting this need. The Federation of Southern Cooperatives has a summer legal externship program designed to expose law students to the issue of land loss. The Land Tenure Center’s Summer Legal Externship Program provides an opportunity for law students to learn about the struggle to retain land in African-American, Hispanic, and Native American communities. Other organizations, like the Land Loss Prevention Project, host law students each summer.
The Big Black Lie So I didn’t give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough so that when he, I assumed the Department of Agriculture had sent him to me, either that or the Georgia Department of Agriculture. And, uh, he needed to go back and report that I did try to help him. So I took him to a white lawyer….so I figured that if I take him to one of them, that his own kind would take care of him.
Shirley Sherrod of the USDA’s Georgia Rural Development office spoke to the NAACP in March 2010, telling them how she had withheld assistance to a farmer because he was white.
The first time I was faced with having to help a white farmer save his farm. He took a long time talking but he was trying to show me he was superior to me. I know what he was doing. But he had to come to me for help. What he didn’t know, while he was talking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me, was I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him. I was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their farm land, and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land.
So I didn’t give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough so that when he, I assumed the Department of Agriculture had sent him to me, either that or the Georgia Department of Agriculture. And, uh, he needed to go back and report that I did try to help him. So I took him to a white lawyer….so I figured that if I take him to one of them, that his own kind would take care of him.
Now, in case the impact of this hasn’t settled on you yet, imagine Sherrod is a white woman and she is talking about refusing to help a black man. “Took him to one of his own kind?” “I didn’t give him the full force of what I could do?”
She admits that she deliberately withheld assistance (which is her job) from a member of “we the people” based on the color of their skin.
If you look for it, you could probably find racists in any group in the country: the Knights of Columbus, Kiwanis, the Chamber of Commerce, a sports team, a carpenter’s union, the Tea Party movement, and obviously even the NAACP.
A key difference is that in the Tea Party movement, you won’t find people condoning it as this friendly crowd condoned Sherrod’s racism.
If the NAACP is looking for racism, they need only go look in the mirror.
The first time I was faced with having to help a white farmer save his farm. He took a long time talking but he was trying to show me he was superior to me. I know what he was doing. But he had to come to me for help. What he didn’t know, while he was talking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me, was I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him. I was struggling with the fact that so many black people had lost their farm land, and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land.
So I didn’t give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough so that when he, I assumed the Department of Agriculture had sent him to me, either that or the Georgia Department of Agriculture. And, uh, he needed to go back and report that I did try to help him. So I took him to a white lawyer….so I figured that if I take him to one of them, that his own kind would take care of him.
Now, in case the impact of this hasn’t settled on you yet, imagine Sherrod is a white woman and she is talking about refusing to help a black man. “Took him to one of his own kind?” “I didn’t give him the full force of what I could do?”
She admits that she deliberately withheld assistance (which is her job) from a member of “we the people” based on the color of their skin.
If you look for it, you could probably find racists in any group in the country: the Knights of Columbus, Kiwanis, the Chamber of Commerce, a sports team, a carpenter’s union, the Tea Party movement, and obviously even the NAACP.
A key difference is that in the Tea Party movement, you won’t find people condoning it as this friendly crowd condoned Sherrod’s racism.
If the NAACP is looking for racism, they need only go look in the mirror.
Shirley Sherrod Civil Rights Movement Reveals Deep Dark Black Liberation and Pay Back Directed Toward White Farmers $150,000 Racial Award to Shirley Sherrod Robbing America Getting Even
RDLN Graduate and Board Vice Chair Shirley Sherrod was appointed Georgia Director for Rural Development by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on July 25. Only days earlier, she learned that New Communities, a group she founded with her husband and other families (see below) has won a thirteen million dollar settlement in the minority farmers law suit Pigford vs Vilsack.
In announcing the appointment of Shirley and other new officials, Secretary Vilsack said that "These individuals will be important advocates on behalf of rural communities in states throughout the country and help administer the valuable programs and services provided by the USDA that can enhance their economic success."
Shirley is a graduate in the first group of RDLN Leaders and serves as Vice Chair of our Board of Directors. She earned her master's degree from Antioch through RDLN, has helped orient every group of RDLN participants, and has taken leadership in many other ways. She serves as Georgia lead for both the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund and the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative (SRBWI).
Minority Farm Settlement
Justice Achieved - Congratulations to Shirley and Charles Sherrod!
We have wonderful news regarding the case of New Communities, Inc., the land trust that Shirley and Charles Sherrod established, with other black farm families in the 1960's. At the time, with holdings of almost 6,000 acres, this was the largest tract of black-owned land in the country. Now with a cash award of historic proportions, the group will be able to begin again.
In 1969, New Communities received a planning grant from OEO and was encouraged to expect substantial funding for implementation, but Governor Maddox would not permit further funds for the group to come into the state.
Nevertheless, New Communities built up farming operations to help retain the land. They had highway frontage where they had a farmers market to sell their crops. They raised hogs and sold the processed meat in a smokehouse they built on the highway. Their sugar cane mill on the highway also attracted customers. New Communities was ahead of the times in raising eight acres of Muscatine grapes, which are now widely grown in the area. They also farmed 1,500 acres of row crops, including corn, peanuts and soybeans.
Over the years, USDA refused to provide loans for farming or irrigation and would not allow New Communities to restructure its loans. Gradually, the group had to fight just to hold on to the land and finally had to wind down operations.
In 1985, as the land was being lost, Shirley entered the RDLN program. Previously, she had worked behind the scenes, but as she participated in RDLN, she began to realize her capacity as an up-front leader. She invited the Federation of Southern Cooperatives to sponsor her in the RDLN program, earned her master's degree with a thesis that continues to provide a blueprint for her ongoing work with black farmers and others, helped orient all succeeding groups of RDLN Leaders, and became vice chair of RDLN's Board of Directors. As you all know, Shirley is Georgia Lead for both the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund and the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative. She has also chaired the board of the Farmers Legal Action Group, which has been active in the minority farmers law suit, along with the Federation and other groups. FSC and SRBWI hosted RDLN's National Network Assembly in 2006, during which Network members had a chance to immerse themselves in Civil Rights history, with the guidance of Shirley and Charles (the first field director of SNCC), Albany singers and others, and to visit the economic development projects that have grown out of that Civil Rights history.
The cash award acknowledges racial discrimination on the part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the years 1981-85. (President Reagan abolished the USDA Office of Civil Rights when he became President in 1981.) New Communities is due to receive approximately $13 million ($8,247,560 for loss of land and $4,241,602 for loss of income; plus $150,000 each to Shirley and Charles for pain and suffering). There may also be an unspecified amount in forgiveness of debt. This is the largest award so far in the minority farmers law suit (Pigford vs Vilsack).
The attorney for New Communities has been Rose Sanders of Chestnut Sanders and Sanders, sister of National Rural Fellows graduate Harold Gaines and Advisor for RDLN Leaders Lillie Fields and Rose Hill.
No one can compensate those involved with New Communities for the difficult history they experienced. The award covers only a few of the years in question. Nevertheless, with these funds, New Communities will be able to start work again -- forty years later -- to realize the promise of their original dream, reconnect with the legacy of the Civil Rights movement, and meet the challenge of the needs and opportunities of the current historical moment.
In announcing the appointment of Shirley and other new officials, Secretary Vilsack said that "These individuals will be important advocates on behalf of rural communities in states throughout the country and help administer the valuable programs and services provided by the USDA that can enhance their economic success."
Shirley is a graduate in the first group of RDLN Leaders and serves as Vice Chair of our Board of Directors. She earned her master's degree from Antioch through RDLN, has helped orient every group of RDLN participants, and has taken leadership in many other ways. She serves as Georgia lead for both the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund and the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative (SRBWI).
Minority Farm Settlement
Justice Achieved - Congratulations to Shirley and Charles Sherrod!
We have wonderful news regarding the case of New Communities, Inc., the land trust that Shirley and Charles Sherrod established, with other black farm families in the 1960's. At the time, with holdings of almost 6,000 acres, this was the largest tract of black-owned land in the country. Now with a cash award of historic proportions, the group will be able to begin again.
In 1969, New Communities received a planning grant from OEO and was encouraged to expect substantial funding for implementation, but Governor Maddox would not permit further funds for the group to come into the state.
Nevertheless, New Communities built up farming operations to help retain the land. They had highway frontage where they had a farmers market to sell their crops. They raised hogs and sold the processed meat in a smokehouse they built on the highway. Their sugar cane mill on the highway also attracted customers. New Communities was ahead of the times in raising eight acres of Muscatine grapes, which are now widely grown in the area. They also farmed 1,500 acres of row crops, including corn, peanuts and soybeans.
Over the years, USDA refused to provide loans for farming or irrigation and would not allow New Communities to restructure its loans. Gradually, the group had to fight just to hold on to the land and finally had to wind down operations.
In 1985, as the land was being lost, Shirley entered the RDLN program. Previously, she had worked behind the scenes, but as she participated in RDLN, she began to realize her capacity as an up-front leader. She invited the Federation of Southern Cooperatives to sponsor her in the RDLN program, earned her master's degree with a thesis that continues to provide a blueprint for her ongoing work with black farmers and others, helped orient all succeeding groups of RDLN Leaders, and became vice chair of RDLN's Board of Directors. As you all know, Shirley is Georgia Lead for both the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund and the Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative. She has also chaired the board of the Farmers Legal Action Group, which has been active in the minority farmers law suit, along with the Federation and other groups. FSC and SRBWI hosted RDLN's National Network Assembly in 2006, during which Network members had a chance to immerse themselves in Civil Rights history, with the guidance of Shirley and Charles (the first field director of SNCC), Albany singers and others, and to visit the economic development projects that have grown out of that Civil Rights history.
The cash award acknowledges racial discrimination on the part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the years 1981-85. (President Reagan abolished the USDA Office of Civil Rights when he became President in 1981.) New Communities is due to receive approximately $13 million ($8,247,560 for loss of land and $4,241,602 for loss of income; plus $150,000 each to Shirley and Charles for pain and suffering). There may also be an unspecified amount in forgiveness of debt. This is the largest award so far in the minority farmers law suit (Pigford vs Vilsack).
The attorney for New Communities has been Rose Sanders of Chestnut Sanders and Sanders, sister of National Rural Fellows graduate Harold Gaines and Advisor for RDLN Leaders Lillie Fields and Rose Hill.
No one can compensate those involved with New Communities for the difficult history they experienced. The award covers only a few of the years in question. Nevertheless, with these funds, New Communities will be able to start work again -- forty years later -- to realize the promise of their original dream, reconnect with the legacy of the Civil Rights movement, and meet the challenge of the needs and opportunities of the current historical moment.
The White Farmer The Black Klannish Shirley Sherrod Disgraces American Blacks MLK Heritage and Reveals Black Liberation Racist America Inside Barack Hussein Obama U S Goverment
Days after the NAACP clashed with Tea Party members over allegations of racism, a video has surfaced showing an Agriculture Department official regaling an NAACP audience with a story about how she withheld help to a white farmer facing bankruptcy -- video that now has forced the official to resign.
Shirley Sherrod, the department's Georgia director of Rural Development, is shown in the clip describing "the first time I was faced with having to help a white farmer save his farm." Sherrod, who is black, claimed the farmer took a long time trying to show he was "superior" to her. The audience laughed as she described how she determined his fate.
"He had to come to me for help. What he didn't know while he was taking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me was I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him," she said. "I was struggling with the fact that so many black people have lost their farmland and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land -- so I didn't give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough."
The Agriculture Department announced Monday, shortly after FoxNews.com published its initial report on the video, that Sherrod had resigned.
"There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA, and I strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a written statement. "We have been working hard through the past 18 months to reverse the checkered civil rights history at the department and take the issue of fairness and equality very seriously.
The NAACP released a statement late Monday condemning Sherrod's admission.
"We are appalled by her actions, just as we are with abuses of power against farmers of color and female farmers," the statement said.
"Her actions were shameful," it continued. "While she went on to explain in the story that she ultimately realized her mistake, as well as the common predicament of working people of all races, she gave no indication she had attempted to right the wrong she had done to this man."
Sherrod explained in the video that, at the time, she assumed the state or national Department of Agriculture had referred the white farmer to her. In order to ensure that the farmer could report back that she was indeed helpful, she said she took him to see "one of his own" -- a white lawyer.
"I figured that if I take him to one of them, that his own kind would take care of him," she said.
The point of the story wasn't entirely clear; only an excerpt of the speech is included in the video clip.
"It was revealed to me that it's about poor versus those who have," she said, suggesting she had learned that race is less important.
The video clip was first posted by BigGovernment.com. The clip is dated March 27 from an NAACP Freedom Fund banquet.
The clip adds to the firestorm of debate over the NAACP's decision to approve a resolution at its convention last week accusing some Tea Party activists of racism -- a charge Tea Party leaders deny.
In a second clip from the same event posted online, Sherrod appeared to urge black job seekers to find work at the Department of Agriculture because the federal government won't lay people off.
"There are jobs at USDA and many times there are no people of color to fill those jobs because we shy away from agriculture. We hear the word agriculture and think, why are we working in the fields?" she said. "You've heard of a lot of layoffs. Have you heard of anybody in the federal government losing their job? That's all I need to say."
Shirley Sherrod, the department's Georgia director of Rural Development, is shown in the clip describing "the first time I was faced with having to help a white farmer save his farm." Sherrod, who is black, claimed the farmer took a long time trying to show he was "superior" to her. The audience laughed as she described how she determined his fate.
"He had to come to me for help. What he didn't know while he was taking all that time trying to show me he was superior to me was I was trying to decide just how much help I was going to give him," she said. "I was struggling with the fact that so many black people have lost their farmland and here I was faced with having to help a white person save their land -- so I didn't give him the full force of what I could do. I did enough."
The Agriculture Department announced Monday, shortly after FoxNews.com published its initial report on the video, that Sherrod had resigned.
"There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA, and I strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a written statement. "We have been working hard through the past 18 months to reverse the checkered civil rights history at the department and take the issue of fairness and equality very seriously.
The NAACP released a statement late Monday condemning Sherrod's admission.
"We are appalled by her actions, just as we are with abuses of power against farmers of color and female farmers," the statement said.
"Her actions were shameful," it continued. "While she went on to explain in the story that she ultimately realized her mistake, as well as the common predicament of working people of all races, she gave no indication she had attempted to right the wrong she had done to this man."
Sherrod explained in the video that, at the time, she assumed the state or national Department of Agriculture had referred the white farmer to her. In order to ensure that the farmer could report back that she was indeed helpful, she said she took him to see "one of his own" -- a white lawyer.
"I figured that if I take him to one of them, that his own kind would take care of him," she said.
The point of the story wasn't entirely clear; only an excerpt of the speech is included in the video clip.
"It was revealed to me that it's about poor versus those who have," she said, suggesting she had learned that race is less important.
The video clip was first posted by BigGovernment.com. The clip is dated March 27 from an NAACP Freedom Fund banquet.
The clip adds to the firestorm of debate over the NAACP's decision to approve a resolution at its convention last week accusing some Tea Party activists of racism -- a charge Tea Party leaders deny.
In a second clip from the same event posted online, Sherrod appeared to urge black job seekers to find work at the Department of Agriculture because the federal government won't lay people off.
"There are jobs at USDA and many times there are no people of color to fill those jobs because we shy away from agriculture. We hear the word agriculture and think, why are we working in the fields?" she said. "You've heard of a lot of layoffs. Have you heard of anybody in the federal government losing their job? That's all I need to say."
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