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“INSTITUTIONALIZED DISCRIMINATION OF BLACK FARMERS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H4477-H4478 on July 10, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
INSTITUTIONALIZED DISCRIMINATION OF BLACK FARMERS
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Boozman). Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, first I would like to join my former colleague from North Carolina who acknowledged the contributions of a dear friend who died recently, Clarence Lightner.
Mayor Lightner was a friend to us in North Carolina who worked in the early 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He was a pioneer not only because he became the first African American to become the mayor of the capital of North Carolina, but also because of his ability to raise issues that were controversial and get them on the table. He also inspired other people to do likewise. I certainly will miss him personally as a friend. I got to work with him on various committees that we served together on, and know of his beloved position in his community and church and family, and I personally acknowledge what he has meant to me and meant to our State.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk on another subject as well. I rise just 6 days after we celebrated Independence Day to call attention to the plight of our Nation's black and minority farmers, small business people, who continue to struggle for their own independence against the forces of institutionalized discrimination at the hand of field offices of the United States Department of Agriculture, despite modest gains in some recent legislative and legal victories.
Only days before we celebrated July 4, a group of 150 black farmers felt it necessary to stage a sit-in in a regional office of the Department of Agriculture to protest the continued discrimination practices used by Federal employees to deny them a Federal farm loan.
This follows on the settlement of a class action lawsuit in 1999 which all of us thought would bring remedies. That was a consent decree in which the government agreed to stop these practices and the court provided relief in the way of priorities and loans, and agreed to pay
$50,000 where there were acts of discrimination proven, and to provide other assistance.
But many who have applied for this relief have been denied, and the consent decree expires in 2 years. The government has paid more than half a billion dollars to farmers, while denying and refusing to assist many of the original plaintiffs. There is not a consistency in the application of the relief. So many of the farmers are finding this consent decree to be an empty victory or remedy that has no value to them whatsoever.
In a recent ruling by the U.S. Appellate Court in Washington, D.C., Pigford v. Ann Veneman, the Court clearly stated that the farmers had suffered a double betrayal, first by the Department of Agriculture and then by their own lawyers.
The protest by black farmers in the State of Tennessee demonstrates that the Department of Agriculture continues to ignore minority farmers who are small and disadvantaged. Secretary Veneman's response, to establish a high-level review of the issues within the department and to meet personally with these minority farmers, is indeed a positive step. However, there have been numerous studies, regulatory reviews, adjudication by the courts, and legislative direction by this Congress. The patterns of discrimination have been documented. The courts have decreed remedies. Congress has enacted specific reform, and it is past time for the Department of Agriculture to act and end discrimination.
The Committee on Agriculture committed here on the floor to hold hearings where they will examine the issues of black farmers. The committee is considering a full hearing in September.
The recent legislative victories for civil rights within the farm bill must be implemented immediately to ensure that past and present practices of discrimination and denials are prevented and corrected.
Those victories included: An Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at USDA; language that requires the Secretary of Agriculture to document and to track program participation for minority farmers; and also the county committee elections be open and fair, and where there is not minority participation, there would be.
Mr. Speaker, I call on Congress indeed to pass the resources necessary for these funds, and I call on the administration to implement these policies so we can end discrimination and act in good faith for these small farmers who are struggling to make a living for themselves.
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