From: <LawrLCL@aol.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 20, 2012 at 10:18 PM
Subject: Fwd: USDA & DOJ Discriminating Against Women & Hispanic Farmers
To: landrightsnfarming.seamom89@gmail.com
Subj: USDA & DOJ Discriminating Against Women & Hispanic Farmers
Land Assistance Fund
Note: This is a release we have just received from Senator Hank Sanders that we wanted to share with you regarding the Women and Hispanic lawsuit against the USDA.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Hank Sanders
September 19, 2012 (334) 782-1651
USDA and U.S. Justice Department DiscriminatingAgainst Women and Hispanic Farmers
Selma, Alabama...The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Justice Department employed one claims process in addressing USDA's discrimination against Black and Native American Farmers. Now they are implementing a very different claims process for Women and Hispanic Farmers.
The process for Women and Hispanic Farmers is so much more stringent. The claims processes have or will resulted in tens of thousands of Black and Native American Farmers receiving billions of dollars in settlements for USDA's discrimination against them over many decades. These settlements came because Minority Farmers were not treated the same as White Farmers by USDA over the years.
Now the claims process that USDA is implementing for Women and Hispanic Farmers who were also discriminated against is so much more difficult. Some lawyers who are familiar with all the claims processes say this more stringent process for Women and Hispanics will likely prevent all but a few hundred persons from qualifying even though the discrimination was the same.
"This is pure discrimination against Women and Hispanic Farmers," said Senator Hank Sanders, an Alabama State Senator who was involved in the two Black Farmers cases as a lawyer but is not involved in Women and Hispanic Farmers cases. The discriminatory claims process for Women and Hispanic Farmers will commence on September 24th. "I have tried to tell the U.S. Justice Department and the White House that the process is discriminatory. It is my information that USDA wants to do what is fair, but one or two lawyers in the Justice Department insist on this discriminatory approach.
"All you have to do is compare the claims forms to see the discrimination. It makes no sense to discriminate when you are trying to correct discrimination. President Barack Obama has been fighting discrimination most of his adult life. I don't believe he would support this discrimination against Women and Hispanic Farmers if he knew about it. I will be glad to supply more details of how Women and Hispanic Farmers are being discriminated against," Sanders said.
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Hank Sanders is a civil rights attorney and state Senator in Alabama
Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund | 2769 Church Street | East Point | GA | 30344
