[I watched the attorney's who gave the testimony before Lugar on CSPAN they had him sweating bigtime :-) Ian]
ACTION ALERT: Black Farmers in the U.S. call on you for support!
Make your voice heard now to end the U.S. government's stalling of promised compensation for decades of racial discrimination. Join with Food First to demand that Black Farmers be paid immediately.
2 Minute Action to Support the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association (BFAA)
1) Read the brief "Background" section below 2) Copy and Paste the "Petition Text" into a new email 3) Add your name and contact information 4) Send to TILLERY at aol.com - the BFAA will print and submit these 5) Forward this email to friends and associates 6) Visit the websites linked at the end of this email for further BFAA information
Background:
African-American farmers have been systematically discriminated against by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) since the agency’s formation.
In the landmark case PIGFORD v. GLICKMAN, the U.S. Federal District Court found that the USDA has in fact "practiced, implemented and otherwise instituted policies and procedures which disparately impacted African American farmers based solely on their race between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 1996".
A Consent Decree was entered on April 14, 1999 with provisions for compensating those Black Farmers impacted by discriminatory USDA policies. Over twenty-five thousand farmers applied to be admitted to this class action and more than twenty one thousand were granted this request.
However, the claims of approximately 40% of these 21,000 claimants have been rejected. Of the other 60% of the farmers admitted to the class, fewer than 10% of those approved for monetary relief have been granted debt forgiveness.
This is absolutely unacceptable and defeats the intent of the court's ruling to find a just solution.
Petition Text (cut, paste, add your info, & send to "Tillery at aol.com":
"Petition for Expedited Settlement to President George W. Bush
I hereby petition the Chief Executive of the United States of America, George W. Bush, to require that just compensation be paid immediately to all African-American farmers party to the Pigford vs. Glickman Consent Decree and that settlement be made expeditiously to those claimants wrongfully denied settlement pursuant to the terms of the Consent Decree.
Sincerely,
_____________________ (name)
_____________________ (street address)
_____________________ (city, state, zip)
_____________________ (phone or email)"
For more information:
The Black Farmers and Agriculturalists' Association http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/bfaa.htm
and
Food First's Backgrounder "The Last Plantation" http://www.foodfirst.org/pubs/backgrdrs/2000/w00v6n1.html
Join the fight against hunger. For more information contact foodfirst at foodfirst.org.
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