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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 10, 2010 |
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Historic Settlement in the Pigford Lawsuit - Seeking Organizational Sign-ons There has been a settlement in the Pigford lawsuit that now awaits funding from Congress. Below is the letter from the Network of Black Farm Groups and Advocates to Congress. The group seeks organizational sign-ons to the letter to be distributed to Congress. To sign-on please send an email to heathergray@federation.coop NETWORK OF BLACK FARM GROUPS The Honorable Nancy Pelosi The Honorable Harry Reid Dear Madam Speaker and Mr. Majority Leader: On February 12, 2010 President Obama sent to Congress an emergency proposal to amend the fiscal year 2010 budget to appropriate funding to settle claims for prior discrimination brought by Black farmers against the Department of Agriculture. The President’s submission included both the necessary legislative language and the OMB analysis of the proposal recommending that the President submit it to Congress. This proposal was included with two other FY2010 supplemental appropriation proposals. The proposal needs immediate action. In fact, Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack has stated that the deadline funding for the historic settlement of these claims, on which the proposal is based, is March 31. As you know, this settlement and the need for the funding are well documented and the legislation is in its final form. All Congress needs to do is schedule it for a floor debate and vote on it. Please keep in mind that the deadline has a human face to it. Most of the late filers in the lawsuit against the USDA, for whom the settlement is to assist, are now older, many have retired and some are deceased. These Black farmers or their families have been waiting for close to ten years for a settlement of their case. Justice for these farmers simply cannot be delayed any longer. Therefore, this letter is to urge you to do everything in your power to pass this emergency legislation by March 31. Calvin King Gary Grant Ralph Paige Savi Horne Eddie Carthan Willard Tillman Georgia Good Hezaheiah Gibson Edward Cline cc: President Barack Obama Endorsing Organizations Alabama State Association of Cooperatives Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network Alabama Appleseed American Federation of Government Employees (AFL-CIO) American Corn Growers Association BK Farmyards Black Men's Health Initiative (North Carolina) Border Agricultural Workers Project (Texas) California Farmers Union (CFU) California Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association CASA del Llano, INC (Texas) Center for Rural Affairs (Nebraska) Community Vision Council Concerned Citizens of Tillery (North Carolina) Cooperative Network (Minnesota) FARM AID Farmworker Association of Florida, (Florida) Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy Free all Political Prisoners & Prisoners of War Greene/Sumter Enterprise Community, Inc. (Alabama) Grassroots Economics Organizing (GEO) (Maryland) Highlander Research and Education Center Iowa Farmers Union Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy INTACT Community Development Corporation (New York) Kansas Farmers Union League of Rural Voters Malcolm X Commemoration Committee Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions & Utility Shut-offs Missouri Rural Crisis Center M.O.M.I.E's TLC National Family Farm Coalition National Farmers Union National Grange National Hmong American Farmers, Inc. (California) National Latino Farmer and Rancher Trade Association (Washington, DC) National Lawyers Guild National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Nebraska Farmers Union New England Farmers Union North Carolina Environmental Justice Network Pan-African News Wire Peace Train Coalition (New York) Pennsylvania Farmer Union Renewing the Countryside (Minnesota) Revelation of Hope Ranch, ministries (Michigan) Rural Coalicion/Coalición Rural Rural Development Leadership Network (New York) Oklahoma Black Historical Research Product, Inc. Pennsylvania Farmer Union Sevananda Natural Foods Market Sustainable Rural Regenerative Enterprises for Families (SURREF) South Dakota Farmers Union Southern Partners Fund Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group The Archile Webber Sr. Family of Oklahoma The Area Wide Health Committee (North Carolina) The Praxis Project The Transformation Ministry Truly Living Well Natural Urban Farms (Georgia) The Rural Library Project Inc. Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement WESPAC Foundation WhyHunger? (New York)
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| Note: The Federation/LAF, now in its 43rd year, assists Black family farmers across the South with farm management, debt restructuring, alternative crop suggestions, marketing expertise and a whole range of services to ensure family farm survivability. |
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