Black farmers heard, but need Trump to act
I was privileged to be a part of a delegation of African-American pastors who were invited to meet with the Trump administration in Washington on Aug. 14.
I went to represent the 15,000-member Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association (BFAA) based in Memphis. I am the ecumenical support adviser.
President Trump was unable to meet with us, but we did meet with Henry Childs II, a Commerce Department official on loan to the White House’s Office of Public Liaison. He listened to the issues and concerns of black farmers.
I laid out the case for the Trump administration to be more proactive in addressing issues facing black farmers after decades of racial discrimination by the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
In other words, it’s time to pay black farmers and their heirs who suffered racial discrimination for generations.
Last year, a U.S. Court of Appeals denied the USDA’s effort to throw out the claims of about 15,000 black farmers and their heirs. The court’s ruling could lead to payouts of more than $1 billion to farmers who were denied crop loans and other assistance based on race.
Among the judges who provided a unanimous decision in the case was Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the president’s recent Supreme Court nominee. Kavanaugh ordered the clerk to provide a calendar date for presentation of the case to a merits panel.
At our meeting with Childs, we said BFAA’s members embrace the president’s agenda with his “Agriculture and Rural Prosperity Task Force.”
BFAA President Thomas Burrell and I were guests of the president when he delivered the keynote address to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 67th Annual Convention in Nashville.
BFAA’s Black Prosperity Agenda is in step with the president’s vision. BFAA is championing the cause of about 20 million African-Americans across 620 counties known as the Black Belt.
At our meeting, we discussed the government’s assistance in establishing a Black Farmers Credit Union. One of the greatest problems black farmers experience is getting enough operating capital and equipment.
I pointed out how support from financial institutions for black farmers is critically non-existent, while white farmers own farm credit institutions worth over $304 billion. If we had the capital, it would spark entrepreneurial endeavors and expanded black farming operations.
I wrapped up our dialogue that Black America only wants a level playing field. I hope those who read this column will understand the hope with which I see in the future. There is no time to waste.
Bishop David Allen Hall is ecumenical support adviser for the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association, and pastor of Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis.