January 18, 2010 In 1961, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote a letter to the newly elected president, John F. Kennedy, asking for changes in the USDA:
“The department could be of tremendous assistance to Negro farmers who are now denied credit simply because of their desire to exercise their citizenship rights. To wipe out this kind of discrimination would be to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of Negroes on the land. A department zealous to implement democratic ideals might become a source of security and help to struggling farmers rather than a symbol of hostility and discrimination on the federal level.”
Thirty eight years later, in 1999, an attempt was made with the Pigford Suit (PDF) – but many black farmers were left out due to the window of opportunity being open only a short time. Dr. John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association, is planning several rallies throughout “the South to create awareness about the Black farmers continued struggle to settle their long-standing claims of discrimination against the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”).”
h/t @ObamaFoodorama
