Filed under: News
Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association President Tom Burrell holds a news conference in front of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he called for a text message campaign to demand the resignation of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack in August 2010.
From The Grio:The Republicans-- whether in Congress, Fox News, the Tea Party or elsewhere-- seem to operate at their best, or should I say worst, when they create an enemy. And most of the time, except for the days when they are picking on Muslims, mosques, Mexicans and gay marriage, their designated enemy is black America.
And now, they've decided to go after the black farmer. So, exactly what have black farmers done, you ask? They were victims of discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, so they sued and won a $1.25 billion settlement. Another $3.4 billion settled claims that the Interior Department mismanaged Native American trust funds. Now, some GOP lawmakers charge that many of these aggrieved black farmers aren't really farmers at all.
Reps. Michele Bachman (R-Minn.), Steve King (R-Iowa) and Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) have alleged that the settlement with the black farmers was a big scam. Bachmann said the deal was rife with "massive and widespread fraud and abuse," while King said "I think they have turned a blind eye to the fraud and corruption here." These legislators are calling for Congressional investigations into the matter.
But the "concern" of these lawmakers is a reflection of racial politics more than anything else.
Please read the rest of this update on the black farmers' settlement with the USDA on The Grio.
Question:
Do you think the Republicans are trying to block the payment of the black farmers because they are black, or simply as an avenue of playing partisan politics?