Immediate Action for Longstanding Injustice

After the Senate's vote, which effectively removed appropriations language for minority farmers, Senator Harry Reid released a statement saying, "Republicans should be held accountable for standing in the way of justice for those affected." I am no politician, I am a farmer, but it seems to me everyone should be held accountable for standing in the way of justice -- not just Republicans.

Last week, the White House often referred to the handling of Shirley Sherrod's firing as presenting "a teachable moment" for Americans. Unfortunately, one of the things I learned from that moment was that a black woman can be fired for the mere accusation that she discriminated against a white farmer, yet thousands of instances of discrimination against minority farmers over several decades go unresolved. After being included, and then cut from three separate appropriations bills, I also learned that despite the government's "settling" of the Black Farmer case, it refuses to fund the settlement. The Black Farmer settlement was a compromise on the part of the farmers. Despite the fact that the government entered into a settlement largely on its own terms and certainly its own timeline -- it remains unfunded.

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