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Sunday, May 06, 2012
Black Farmers' Quest for Justice Draws to a Close
After decades of discrimination and years of legal wrangling, black American farmers are rushing to beat a May 11 deadline to file racial discrimination claims against the U.S. Department of Agriculture over its lending practices.
Many of them missed an earlier deadline to file claims for part of what has become a $1.25 billion settlement resulting from a 2008 federal farm bill and subsequent congressional action.
For those filing claims to shares of the settlement fund before the new May 11 deadline — as many as 40,000 farmers and their heirs — there is a sense of relief, if not of justice.
"Justice is a very personal thing," said the farmers' co-lead counsel, Gregorio Francis of Florida-based Morgan & Morgan PA.
"Many of these farmers lost their land and their livelihoods. With the settlement, there seems to be a sense that finally there's at least an acknowledgement of what was done. In that sense, there's gratitude. Is there justice? I don't know."
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4 comments:
The majority of these cases don't even involve farmers it's more free money for fraudulent claims.
They didn't have that many black farmers. That's the bill Obammy pushed when he was a senator or whatever. They went to black churches and such and told them to file a claim and get paid.
Anon 9:41 PM
Please read the FACTS before you make things up.
Please read the FACTS before you make things up.
May 7, 2012 9:13 AM
Bite me
In 2007, then–Sen. Barack Obama introduced a bill to reopen the case, and the $1.25 billion settlement was agreed upon but never funded by the Senate, despite passing twice in the House. On the 10th time the bill came before the Senate, it passed in a unanimous consent vote.
Now comes the effort to reach out to black farmers to make sure they apply for the settlement. Many of the black farmers in the Deep South have limited education and are going to need assistance, Boyd said.
He said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has agreed to discuss helping to fund outreach efforts. Boyd said his group is also reaching out to congressional representatives of the areas where black farmers live for assistance.
"I'm glad to get out of this political process. Now I can work on making sure no one is left out," Boyd said.
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