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A federal court's award of $357 million in damages to a group of black =
farmers is the most recent evidence of bias -- not only in the =
administration of the USDA's Office of Civil Rights, but more =
importantly to white farmers in Vermont, in obstructing loans in general =
to low-income farmers irrespective of race.=20
The settlement was won in January by the National Association of Black =
Farmers and was based on 16 years of discriminatory practices in the =
loan delivery programs of the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA).=20
The FmHA was abolished by the USDA Reorganization Act of 1992, and =
replaced with the Farm Services Agency (FSA.)=20
The suit, brought under the Equal Opportunity Act, was founded on =
complaints that FmHA officials in the south retaliated against black =
farmers who complained of discrimination, by denying and postponing =
loans and re-structuring; and that subsequent investigation of these =
complaints of retaliation and systematic discrimination was covered up =
by the Office of Civil Rights beginning during the Reagan =
Administration.
It was during the 1980's when Regan appointees attempted to disband the =
USDA office of civil rights. Coincidentally, it was during this same =
period when a concerted campaign among the same set of USDA officials to =
scuttle the direct loan program of the FmHA, effecting all low-income =
farmers who have been using it since the New Deal.=20
The campaign, termed "The Madigan Plan," after then USDA secretary =
Edward Madigan, was eventually crafted into the USDA Reorganization Act. =
Consequently, the FSA has drastically cut back on the number of direct =
loans to low-income farmers, and transferred the assets of the old FmHA =
loan portfolio into a system of guaranteeing bad loans to corporate =
farmers under an expanded Guaranteed Loan Program, accessible mostly to =
corporate farmers.=20
At the same time, the FSA has accelerated foreclosures, and become, in =
the terms of one family farm advocate, nothing but a cover for a =
collection agency that is rapidly liquidating one small farm after =
another throughout the country -- undetected by the media.=20
However, more objective proof of this cover campaign within the USDA =
did not become apparent until that the suit of the black farmers reached =
federal court and subsequently the large settlement gathered more public =
attention.=20
According to the president of the National Black Farmers Association, =
Gary Grant, the consent decree which is still being negotiated as part =
of the settlement includes the Association's=20
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demand that the USDA acknowledge that abuses in the Office of Civil =
Rights and obstruction of loan delivery programs include not only black, =
but also Native American and white family farmers.=20
"At the same time in early 1980's when the Reagan administration tried =
to disband the civil rights unit in the USDA, the same cabal conspired =
to cut off loans to all family farmers," Grant said.=20
Whether or not the final draft of the consent decree admits this, Grant =
and other leaders of the Association have mounted a national campaign to =
couple the well-known discriminatory practices against black farmers to =
the less recognized bias in loan servicing toward white family farmers.=20
The USDA strategy, according to Grant, has been "to pick off family =
farmers group by group and farmer by farmer."=20
Unfortunately, Grant concedes, the strategy succeeded in exploiting =
racial and class divisions among family farmers.=20
"What our association has decided to do is to take the message to white =
farmers. We have to start talking about we as black farmers as you as =
white farmers have in common -- that we are family farmers, and that in =
order to take back control of the USDA from agribusiness we have to =
organize across racial and class lines." =20
To this end, Grant has already had meeting with predominantly white =
farm organizations in Ohio, Minnesota, Iowa and in New York.=20
There, the president of the Empire State Farm Alliance, John Funicello =
revealed the existence of a plan to reduce the number of dairy farmers =
in the state by 90 per cent. =20
Legally, Grant attributes the success of their suit to two court =
victories and one critical congressional action. "The first was that we =
were able to be recognized as a class," a court battle which took =
several years.=20
Grant does not accept the conventional legal opinion that it is =
impossible for groups of white farmers to constitute themselves as a =
class, in order to have standing to sue the USDA in a class action suit =
-- although, "It may have to be done on a regional rather than on a =
national basis."=20
The second was the Association's obtaining the "right of discovery," =
which enabled their attorneys to obtain documentary evidence in the =
files of the USDA of discriminatory practices going back 16 years.=20
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"The right to discovery is what the USDA is most afraid of," he said, =
"because if white farmers can constitute themselves as a=20
class and gain standing, they can also gain the right of discovery to =
uncover that the conspiracy within the USDA was not just racial."=20
Also central to their successful suit was an Act of Congress which =
extended the statute of limitations beyond the two years the USDA had =
sought to reduce the number of civil right complaints at issue.=20
There are signs that the USDA civil rights office is reacting to the =
black farmer's campaign to reach white farmers, and link their =
discrimination with theirs.=20
Many white farmers across the country have charged the civil rights =
office with failure to adequately investigate their complaints of civil =
rights abuses such as retaliation and deprivation of constitutional =
rights.=20
The office of Bernie Sanders is investigating a complaint brought by =
Robert Houriet of Hardwick, that the office of civil rights claims no =
authority to investigate charges of retaliation that is not correlated =
with racial discrimination. =20
=20
As part of a counter claim against a FmHA foreclosure =
action, Houriet is suing 10 officials of the FmHA and the USDA for =
damages under the Federal Tort Claims. He is alleging that these =
officials conspired to scuttle the FmHA direct loan program beginning in =
the mid 1980's, and retaliated against him when he threatened to expose =
the covert campaign in a series of newspaper stories. =20
However, on February 25, as a direct result of the black farmers suit, =
the USDA civil rights office issued a nationwide notice informing all =
who had filed complaints prior to 1997 of the right to have their cases =
reviewed once more; "to provide all eligible complainants with every =
opportunity to seek administrative or judicial resolution of their =
complaints." =20
The USDA notice admitted that "during the 1980's and 1990's =
administrative processes for review of program civil rights complaints =
did not function effectively." =09
Any farmers with experience of any bias in USDA program delivery =
should contact Farm Connection.=20
Plans are being made to bring Grant to northern Vermont, and to lead a =
discussion of what we can do organizationally and legally to respond to =
this continuing campaign within the USDA that discriminatively targets =
family farmers.=20
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=20
As one black farmer, John Boyd put it:
=20
"It looks like the USDA is trying to get it all into the hands of the =
larger farmers. They figure it's easier to deal with a few thousand big =
farmers than with the little ones, so they foreclose on the small, the =
broke, the poor man. That's the mentality of the federal government."=20
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