Bill of Rights
On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 8:13 AM, <LawrLCL@aol.com> wrote:
On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 8:13 AM, <LawrLCL@aol.com> wrote:
Subj: our appeal the oversight committees of congress for action
8 september 2011to all:hopefully, the oversight committees of congress will step up to the plate, schedule hearings, and not continue sit in the audience and watch usda's continued widespread abuses. bi-partisanship and party politics should and must not trump usda employees and minority farmers, especially, Black farmers...their justice, civil and human rights. friends on the hill of usda and the present obama/vilsack administration have been quiet observer to their human and civil rights abuses. our paper trail in this regard is long.the coalition and the representative for the interest of minority farmers, michael stovall, are prepared to meet with you all, well before our october 4 event, "filibuster", regarding our numerous request for full committee hearings on usda civil rights abuses.senator chuck grassley made similar hearing request(s) to the senate ag committee to no avail. there needs to be accountability with regards to this out of control mess at usda. justice must prevail and as distant as it may seem.the idea that we must remain silent because of the up coming political session, is ludicrous, and will not happen.thank you.on behalf of the october 4th event coordinators: lesa donnelly, michael stovall, ron cotton & lawrence lucas"In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends" Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
From: LawrLCL@aol.com
To: valerie_jarrett@who.eop.gov, michael_straupmanis@who.eop.gov, shasti_conrad@who.eop.gov
CC: lesa@snowcrest.net, rncott1@aol.com, epstein101@verizon.net, myee@csupomona.edu, lawrlcl@aol.com, johnwesleyboydjr@gmail.com, jebankst@comcast.net
Sent: 9/8/2011 7:49:33 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: white house meeting and intervention at the department of agriculture
8 september 2011valerie jarrettmichael straupmanisshasti conradewe the members of the usda coalition of minority employees and minority farmer representative, michael stovall, wish to meet with you (the white house representatives), with hope, at the same time you intervene and stop the devastation of civil administration and processing at the us department of agriculture....under secretary tom vilsack and his leadership team. civil rights has only gotten worst under your administration. secretary vilsack continues to refusing to meet with our organization....for more than two years.we are requesting a meeting with you, before our "filibuster" for justice, in front usda, set for tuesday 4, october 2011. this is not an event that need to happen.thank you.lawrence lucas, presidentusda coalition of minority employees856/ 910-2399 or 202/ 910-2399 cell"In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends" _Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
lesa donnelly said, 6 september 20111. I just got off the phone with a Hispanic female who is in a hostile work environment. This is the second time I have had to talk her out of quitting and refer her into therapy. This example is one of the reasons we recently set up an R5 women's crisis hotline. If USDA and FS will not take care of the female employees, then we will do it. We are trying to prevent harm and to keep women from losing their jobs - something the harassers are trying to make happen and USDA will not take action upon. The Secretary should be concerned about this, but I've seen NO action to believe that he is concerned.
2. a. I had a call last night about a Native American male employee who was not allowed to go on the engine when it went to a fire assignment. This practice helps the Caucasian employees get more fire assignment time. b. Darla, a pregnant Native American woman is being forced to work in close proximity to mice/feces, among other indignities (same Forest as Alicia).
c. Today I received this direct quote from a Native American employee in So. Cal. This is a different forest and a separate incident from the Alisha Dabney and Darla Bush incidents:
"I spoke with the Elders of my tribe (Paiute and Shoshone) about the incident. The Elders prayed about it and they told me to leave the district. When they told me to leave the area I put in for a transfer, which was denied...I can say the Elders are still evaluating whether or not they intend to take legal recourse.." This Native American employee (I do not have permission to give you a name) is going to leave the Forest Service. So, now I have Tribal Elders in both Northern CA and Southern CA discussing action based on the way Native American employees are being treated in R5 - the biggest concerns I'm hearing are sexual violations and religious violations. Maybe we need a protest in the Regional Office like they had two weeks ago on the sites...
--
Lesa L. Donnelly
We have lost our sense of shame. — Colin Powell
"FILIBUSTER"
