stay safe all.
l. lucas
From: lawrlcl@aol.com
To: lawrlcl@aol.com
Sent: 8/16/2020 9:56:38 PM Eastern Standard Time
Subject: Have you seen "The USDA Did It Again"?
please read the below which tells one reason why we do....what we do.yes, i was there on the supreme court steps that hot day in washington d.c. supporting the wise family & other Black farmers. there was no action network, urban league, naacp, and many others that say they care.we.....the truth tellers, Black farmers, a book, a Black farmer documentary, court filings & news coverage....will not join the silence. yes, the truth will be told with or without the support of the joe biden campaign policy staff.....if we must.we have the elizabeth warren plan, "addressing discrimination and ensuring equity for farmers of color" and what was stated in the "a new farm economy", released augus 2020., a manifesto for changing the us department of agriculture civil rights (the last plantation), as our bench mark. the biden campaign has not done the same.respectfully,lawrence lucas, president emeritususda coalition of minority employeesjustice for Black farmersHave you seen "The USDA Did It Again"?SEPTEMBER 22, 2017by Waymon Hinson, OrganizerEDDIE WISE AND “BROWN SUGAR”
Until the 1997 black farmer law suit, Pigford vs. USDA, the black farmer was virtually invisible on the American scene.
The fight to save the black farmer and the land owned by black farm families brought together Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Wise and many other black farmers in a mutual battle to survive and to tell our stories and be compensated for years of discrimination by local and federal farm agencies against black farmers across the south and in other parts of the United States.
Even in this most troubling and historic setting, civil rights leaders abandoned black farmers, the black church abandoned black farmers, and the well paid attorneys assigned to legally represent black farmers exploited and took advantage of black farmers. No leader from the civil rights community showed up to represent justice when the federal government sent armed military marshals to launch their surprise assault on Eddie and his wife Dorothy during the early morning hours of January 21, 2016, to force them off their 160 acre farm, leaving their hogs and farm equipment, and demanding that they leave with only one vehicle and the clothes on their backs.
Being defined and regulated by local banks and the
US government was no great phenomenon, but suffering the sanctions and ridicule of local black businesses that formally depended mostly on the business of black farm families undermined the progress , economics, and stability of the black community. Without black farm families, who was there left to provide the finances to sustain black stores and restaurants, etc. Take note of how many small black businesses have disappeared in the last 30 years. In fact small rural towns have all but disappeared and died. Our schools are in trouble. The legislative and political clout we had developed over our lives is in jeopardy mostly because small black farmers, like Eddie and Dorothy Wise, have all but disappeared.
The beautiful thing in all the tragedy is that black farmers found each other. We organized the Land Loss Fund and the Black Farmers & Agriculturalists Association (BFFA), both viable organizations under which we developed smart political tactics, communication skills, protest movements, and media campaigns to arouse controversy and help us survive.
As some us appeared before the U S Congress, others were invited to be interviewed on the national television programs like CBS’s “60 Minutes,” and others have been the subject of university students, who visited our homes and wrote papers about the successes and perils of black farmers to earn advance college degrees. These academic papers will be studied and presented to the public and other students for years to come.
We set up a “Miss Black Earth Pageant,” to raise funds to help support black farmers. Young and adult women who were students, teachers, farm wives and other professionals who had always wanted to enter a pageant were a beautiful sight and the monies they raised was used for scholarships, and to help pay light bills and heating bills.
So you may ask why is the suffering and injustice of black farmers an appropriate subject at the funeral of our beloved Mrs. Wise. These matters are important because farming had become their primary investment and way of life. These matters are important because the treachery and psychological insults against this couple at the hands of our government no doubt impacted negatively on her physical and mental health and the timing of her death, as they have had on the untimely demise of other farm women.
What we love most about this couple is that you cannot talk about one without talking about the other. Eddie and “Brown Sugar” were changers of a cultural paradigm.
Seldom are women of color recognized for the dynamism of their service, unconditional love, and child rearing skills. Seldom are women of color the focus of appreciation and affection, their unusual beauty and human needs, and the mysterious way in which they get things done.
Not so with this special woman. Upon meeting the two of them Eddie alerted you that this woman is “My Brown Sugar,” which told me that you best watch your step and give her the respect she deserves. But she was not just a pretty flower on his arm, “Brown Sugar,” always adorning a special hat, joined us in our farm meetings and planning sessions. She was part of our annual Black Farm Summit and the Environmental Justice Conference. All the sweet potatoes, collard greens, and country meats grown on their farm that Eddie so generously shared were profound gifts from Mrs. Wise also.
In closing may I leave you with words from this well known spiritual:
“Oh, when I come to the end of my journey
Weary of life, but the battle is won
Carrying the Staff and the Cross of Redemption
He’ll understand, and He’ll say ‘well done’.”
Lovingly & Respectfully submitted,
The BFAA Family
Gary R. Grant, President
And the surviving children of the late Matthew & Florenza Moore Grant
