From: LawrLCL@aol.com
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2012 07:51:10 -0400
Subject: Re: Requesting an extension of the Black Farmer Lawsuit - need your help!
To: heathergray@federation.coop
CC: angusfarms@hotmail.com; lawrlcl@aol.com; marcelvreid@yahoo.com
16 august 2012
good morning:
ms. gray are you considering our request for an interview covering usda abuse of minority farmers and usda employees? ms. m. sheavers, native american, iowa, and i a have been awaiting your response.
things have worsened at usda since my last email to you. their abuse goes well beyond the walls (the last plantation) at usda washington.
thank you.
lawrence lucas
In a message dated 5/7/2012 7:52:16 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, heathergray@federation.coop writes:
Dear all:
Attached please find a letter we, the "Network of Black Farm Groups and Advocates", sent last week to Judge Paul Friedman in the US District Court regarding the Black Farmer Lawsuit Against the USDA (also known as Pigford II). We are requesting a 90 day extension in the claims process implementation phase scheduled to end this Friday May 11. The letter has also been sent to class counsel, the ombudsman, US Attorney General Eric Holder, and US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
While we recognize the extensive outreach to the estimated 90,000 claimants by class counsel, we are concerned that many people may have not been contacted as yet such as the relatives of deceased claimants and those whose addresses might have changed in the past decade.
We are thankful for the impressive support we have received by those organizations that have already signed on to the letter (and listed below). We are, however, seeking an additional 40 or more signatories and would like to send the letter with added names to Judge Friedman tomorrow, May 8 at 5PM.
If your organization or others you know would like to join us in this effort, please email me at heathergray@federation.coop with the following information:
Name of organizationThanks so much.
Name of Contact
Phone number
Email address
Heather Gray (for the Network of Black Farm Groups and Advocates)
Director of Communications
Federation of Southern Cooperatives/
Land Assistance Fund
404 765 0991
www.federation.coop <http://www.federation.coop>
Groups Signing the Letter to Judge Paul Friedman Requesting an Extension
Arkansas Land and Farm Development Corporation
Contact: Calvin King
(870) 734-1140
calvinrkingsr@yahoo.com
Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association
Contact: Gary Grant
(252) 826-3017
TILLERY@aol.com
Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund
Contact: Ralph Paige
(404) 765-0991
ralphpaige@federation.coop
North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers Land Loss Prevention Project
Contact: Savi Horne
(800) 672-5839
savihorne@gmail.com
Landowners Association of Texas
Contact: Edward Cline
(713) 306-7184
edwlewcli@sbcglobal.net
Mississippi Family Farmers Association
Contact: Eddie Carthan
(662) 458-0983
Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project
Contact: Willard Tillman
(405) 201-6624
wtillman2@cox.net
Operation Springplant, Inc.
Contact: Dororthy Barker
(252) 492 7301
mrsbosp@raleigh.twcbc.com
Rural Advancement Fund
Contact: Georgia Good
(803) 378-9450
wtillman2@cox.net
United Farmers, USA
Contact:Hezakeiah Gibson
(803) 410-2055
Bentondot@aol.com
AFGE Local 3354
St. Louis, Missouri
Contact: Steve Hollis
sonnyhollis@yahoo.com
Agriculture Missions, Inc.
New York
Contact: Winston Carroo, Executive Director
wcarroo@ag-missions.org
Alabama State Association of Co-ops
Forkland, AL
Contact: Ethel Giles
egiles1973@yahoo.com
American Federation of Government Employees (AFL-CIO)
Washington, DC
Contact: Alan Kadrofske
kadroa@afge.org
California Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association
Contact: Michael Harris, Director
916 997 2451
blackagriculture@yahoo.com
Community Vision Council
Contact: Asantewaa Gail Harris
212 650 5008
ahgatnet@hotmail.com
Cooperative Network
Contact: Bill Oemichen, President and CEO
60 258 4400
Bill.Oemichen@cooperativenetwork.coop
Detroit Black Community Food Security Network
Contact: Ife Kilimanjaro, Board of Directors
313 345 3663
ifekilimanjaro@gmail.com
Detroit Food Justice Task force
Contact: Charity Hicks, Outreach & Engagement
313 725 0554
Sublimelight@netscape.net
Disciples Home Missions, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact:Rev. Ronald J. Degges
317 713 2684
rdegges@dhm.disciples.org
Disciples Justice Action Network
Contact: The Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston
410 212-7964
revkenbl@yahoo.com
Eye of Heru Study Group Inc.
Detroit, Michigan
Contact: librarybuilders@hotmail.com
FARM AID
Contact: Carolyn Mugar, Director
617 354 2922
joel@farmaid.org
Farmworker Association of Florida
Contact: Tirso Moreno
407 886-51-51
tirsomoreno@hotmail.com
Food Democracy Now!
Contact: David Murphy, Founder, Executive Director
917 968 7369
dave@fooddemocracynow.org
Food & Water Watch
Contact: Patty Lovera, Assistant Director
plovera@fwwatch.org
Friends of the MST
Contact: Jeffrey Frank
312 206 5253
info@mstbrazil.org
Greene County Newspaper Company
Eutaw, AL
Contact: John Zippert
205 372 3373
jzippert@aol.com
Greene-Sumter Farmers Marketing Co-op
Eutaw, AL
Contact: Ethel Giles
egiles1973@yahoo.com
Highlander Research and Education Center
Contact: Pam McMichael,Director
865 933 3443
Pam@highlandercenter.org
Housing Assistance Council
Contact: Moises Loza, Executive Director
202 842-8600
moises@ruralhome.org
INTACT Community Development Corporation
Contact: Barry Crumbley
914513 7200
barrycrumbley@aol.com
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)
Contact: Jim Kleinschmit, Director Rural Communities Program
612 870 3430
JKleinschmit@iatp.org
Just Transition Alliance
Contact: Jose T. Bravo, Executive Director
619 573 4934
jose@just-transition.org
Kentucky Minority Farmer's Association
Contact: Mattie Mack, President
270 422 2838
Land Stewardship Project
Contact: Doug Nopar
507 523 3366
dnopar@landstewardshipproject.org
League of Rural Voters
Contact: Niel Ritchie, Executive Director
612.879.7578
niel@leagueofruralvoters.org
Los Jardines Institute (The Gardens Institute)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Contact: Richard Moore
505 301 0276
Ljinewmexico@gmail.com
Mississippi State Association of Cooperatives
Contact: Ben Burkett
601 354 2750
benburkett@federation.coop
NAACP
Contact: Hilary O. Shelton, Director
NAACP Washington Bureau & Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy
202 463 2920
hoshelton@naacpnet.org
National Family Farm Coalition
Contact: Kathy Ozer, Executive Director
202 543 5675
kozer@nffc.net
National Farmers Union
Contact: Brittany Jablonsky, Government Relations Representative
202 554 1600
bjablonsky@nfudc.org
National Integrative Health Congress
Contact: Tamara K. Stuchlak, MPH, President
tamarastuchlak@gmail.com
National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association
Contact: Rudy Arredondo
202 628 8833
hola_5@hotmail.com
National Lawyers Guild
Contact: David Gespass
212 679 5100
president@nlg.org
Nebraska Farmers Union
Contact: John K. Hansen, Presisdent
402 476 8815
john@nebraskafarmersunion.org
North South Institute Center For Entreprenuership & Enterprise Development
Contact: Sam Scott
954-434-8220
nsied2002@aol.com
Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance
Contact: Niaz Dorry
niaz@namanet.org
Other Worlds
Contact: Deepa Panchang
832 875-7539
deepa.otherworlds@gmail.com
Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA)
Contact: Marcia Ishii-Eiteman
415-728-0175
mie@panna.org
PLBA Housing Development Corp.
Gainesville, AL
Contact: Carrrie Fulghum
205 652 4745
cmgff@aol.com
Progressive Agriculture Organization
Contact: Arden Tewksbury, Manager
570 833 7209
progressiveagricultureorg@gmail.com
Renewing the Countryside
Contact: Jan Joannides, Executive Director
612-251-7304
jan@rtcinfo.org
Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural
Contact: Lorette Picciano
(202) 628-7160
lpicciano@ruralco.org
Rural Development Leadership Network
Contact: Starry Krueger
(212) 777-9137
rdln@ruraldevelopment.org
Rural Library Project Inc. 501 c3
Contact: Dan White
dwhite2721@juno.com
South Carolina Sea Island Farmers Cooperative
Contact: Helen Fields, Board Chair
843 559 5349
Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group
Jim Lukens, Executive Director
479-422-5831
jlukens@ssawg.org
Southwest Georgia Project
Albany, Georgia
Charles Sherrod, Executive Director
229 869 3032
Spring of Light
Contact: Rabiah AL Nur
703 352 5188
Springoflights@gmail.com
The Heritage Radio Network
Contact: Erin Fairbanks, Executive Director
info@HertiageRadioNetwork.com
The Oakland Institute
Contact: Anuradha Mittal
amittal@oaklandinstitute.org
The Praxis Project
Contact: Makani Themba, Executive Director
202 234-5921
mthemba@thepraxisproject.org
The Rural Advancement Foundation International - USA
Contact: Scott Marlow
919 542-1396
smarlow@rafiusa.org
Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture
Contact: K. Rashid Nuri
404 520-8331
admin@trulylivingwell.com
WESPAC Foundation
Contact: Nada Khader, Executive Director
914 449-6514
nirainjana@yahoo.com
WhyHunger
Contact:Christina M. Schiavoni
Director, Global Movements Program
212 629-9788
christina@whyhunger.org
