Black Farmers: Fear, Apathy and Indifference

Sacramento, CA ~ President Barack Obama Administration 2011 budget recommendation and announced the annouced $1.25 billion settlement for Pigford II Class Action claims due to racism throughout the United States Department of Agriculture, one of the largest civil rights settlements in U.S. history.

Pending Congressional appropriations is contingent upon approval by March 31. Congressional lawmakers are scheduled to leave on Friday March 26 for a two-week break, and there is no clear sign the funds will be approved by then.

Fear, apathy and indifference by the broader Black community to embrace Black Agriculture and the ongoing systemic institutional racism slowly being dismantled within the USDA policy.

Last weekend the Black Agenda was a wonderful conversation in Chicago building upon the Covenant with Black America, a 2006 national plan unfolding the moral consciousness of a nation. Small business is the life blood of a nation. Our historic #1 job creation, economic development and sustainable community is through Black Agriculture.

The solution to fear, apathy and indifference from our Black Agenda is clearly written in the introduction of the Covenant. Without organization Black folk will never be able to take, keep, or hold onto anything, much less the hard-fought gains that we have struggled to achieve, A. Philip Randolph and 10,000 men named George remain right.

The ongoing failed strategy to limit the conversation to Black Farmers in the South of a national Black Farmer problem is clearly an organizational failure Black Farm leaders must embrace.

Nationwide levels of poverty, unemployment and epidemic diet related health outcomes is clearly an outcome of the destruction of Black Agriculture throughout the nation.

If the U.S. Health Code does not speak to fruits and vegetables providing nutrition to the building, restoration and regeneration of the mind, body and spirit then Health Care reform without Black Farmers will not achieve the desired results.

Why do we not embrace the broader conversation of all wealth coming from the land?

Covenant I is Healthcare yet the solution of natural plant based protein diet produced by Black Agriculture is not mentioned as a solution, thus Black Farmers somehow are not part of Health?

Local based Black small business agriculture development is the answer to job creation, economic development for sustainable communities at the very, very, very bottom of the U.S. economy.

We cannot wait, our National Black Agenda should take complete responsibility for allowing our United States Department of Agriculture and our U.S. Congress to continue to drag out appropriation 1 billion dollars+ out of a nearly 100 billion dollar appropriation, Black Farmers will wait, die and not feed a nation, what is the cost of fear, apathy and indifference.

In 1930, 16 million acres of Black Farmers and Agriculturalists provided better health outcomes than 3 million acres of Black Farmers and Agriculturalists in 2010.

The solution to fear, apathy and indifference from our Black Agenda is clearly written in the introduction of the Covenant. Without organization black folk will never be able to take, keep, or hold onto anything, much less the hard-fought gains that we have struggled to achieve, A. Philip Randolph and 10,000 men named George remain right.

When 1.15 billion dollars is within the hands of Black Farmers next year we can elevate a public policy conversation preparing for the 2012 Farm Bill conversation to elimanate systemic institutional racism in the USDA public policy code predicated upon 1862 and the American Slave trade.