Questions About the Pigford II Settlement?

Black Farmers Case
Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation, Case No. 08-mc-0511 (PLF) (D.D.C).
If you have questions about the Pigford II Settlement signed by President Barack Obama on Wednesday, December 8, 2010, you can go to:

www.blackfarmercase.com or call 1-866-950-5547. This web site and toll free number have been established to help people understand what this bill does.

If you have questions after that, please feel free to contact the BFAA office in Tillery, NC.

Under the Cloak of Darkness

December 10, 2010 PRESS RELEASE Contact: Gary R. Grant, President at (252) 826-2800 UNDER THE CLOAK OF DARKNESS, PIGFORD II IS SIGNED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA Tillery, NC Under the cloak of darkness in the South Court Auditorium of the White House, December 8, 2010, the first Black president of the United States signed into law H. R. 4783 which may be the very instrument that will once and for all seal the fate in exterminating Black farmers in America. Against a back drop of the American flag, with several government officials standing behind him and approximately 100 on lookers, including elected officials, Black farmers and Native Americans from several states enjoined in the Cobell Settlement case, the general mood in the room was one of "elation and excitement." As I personally witnessed this historic occasion, feeling extremely emotional about how overwhelmed my parents, the late Matthew and Florenza Moore Grant (deceased 2001 six months apart), would be to know that their years of civil rights struggles helped lead to the reality of an elected African American president, I thought too, of the horror of the hardships and heart break of my late parents, who filed their discrimination suit against their USDA local office more than 30 years ago, yet have never received their compensation for their settlement through the Administrative Process (1996), and other Black farmers who have died never having had closure to their discrimination claims against the USDA. I also thought about my late brother Richard D. Grant (deceased 2004), a farmer and Viet Nam Veteran who died way to early from the stress of twenty-five plus years of struggle to get justice for discrimination against him. There can be no doubt about President Obama's commitment to complete this historic legislation, since he was the Senator who introduced a bill when he was the only black Senator in the U. S. Senate. After his statement to the group and signing the bill, President Obama seemed more eager to shake the hands of the legislative members present than those hard working, suffering farmers and advocates for Pigford and seemed to lack a warm connection to the lowly farmer. Perhaps he should take Shirley Sherrod up on her invitation, and I offer the same, come out to rural America and meet some real struggling citizens. Since I have been privileged to meet with two other presidents on this issue, the noted difference is that President Clinton took the time to pose with each Black farmer as he entered the room. President Bush did not rush from the room after addressing the "black leaders" and allowed time for photographs to be taken, including candid shots. And certainly, Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS), John Lewis (D-GA) Maxine Waters (D-CA), and many others must be given credit for their many years of hard work and standing firmly behind the scenes working to make both Pigford I and now Pigford II possible. Entering the White House on Wednesday, December 8, 2010 was reminiscent of my first opportunity to meet a sitting president, Bill Clinton, on a cold and frigid December (1997) night that I also term "under the cloak of darkness," when a meeting with Black farmers had to be changed to an integrated meeting with "small family farmers" so that the tenor of the meeting would be "politically correct," even though it was only just Black farmers who had filed a class action against the USDA in August of 1997. Or the fact that President George Bush met with some three hundred "Black leaders" and held a private meeting with a couple of Republican Black farmers from Georgia who had supported the ouster of a great Black representative, former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (GA), as some source of political commensurate payment for the struggle of Black farmers. Seemingly forgotten in the process are those Black farmers who are in the Administrative Process or have outstanding court claims, like my parents, not to mention those who filed Civil Rights claims during the "Bush years" who are now threatened with loss of their claims because of the Statutes of Limitations being used against them since the Bush Administration did pretty much as the Reagan Administration by stripping the office of Civil Rights and not following up on filed claims. Interestingly and conspicuously forgotten on this occasion was Tim Pigford for whom the class action is named, although Elouise Cobell, a Blackfoot nation member, and former USDA Secretary Dan Glickman were present. So all in all, we close a chapter, but the story is far from being completed as the evil and recalcitrant agents of the government never lost their employment, and are now preparing for rich retirements with many benefits from having stolen the land, the livelihood, the health and for causing all manner of family destruction in the lives of so many Black farmers. To add insult to injury, to have two current Republican U S Congressional Representatives to refer to the Pigford lawsuit as "fraud" and as a form of "reparations" while they insist on a windfall of unjust tax cuts for the wealthiest two per cent boggles the senses and reminds us once again that there is little honor bestowed on an elected Black President, and that racism threatens and is still sustainable for future generations of black and other children of color, and will be staggeringly costly for all Americans. Want to help or learn more? Just contact the BFAA office at bfaausnow@aol.com or tillery@aol.com or visit the BFAA web site, www.bfaa-us.org. Please consider making a donation to assist our efforts to keep you updated and speak the truth. PayPal is available at the web site. © 2010 BFAA ©2010 BFAA | P.O. Box 61, Tillery, NC 27887

A Real Look at the Pigford vs. Glickman

It has been my intention for some time to find a way to bring to the attention of the general public who believe that the Black farmers in America have been paid, through the now historic Pigford vs. Glickman, Secretary of the USDA, for years of discrimination. The law suit was filed in August of 1998 and was deemed closed on April 4, 1999 after a “fairness” hearing. Quickly, the law suit was (1) a Class Action; (2) it had two “Tracks”- A for minimal proof, and B for a “preponderance of evidence;” (3) three of the most damning requirements were a) the naming of a “similarly situated White farmer” who was funded at the same time the Black farmer was denied; and b) the Adjudicator would receive challenges from the very officers and offices that had discriminated against the farmer; (3) that in settlement or debt write off would be counted as income to the farmer and reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

What the American public failed to realize is that the “Class” had an average age of 60. Therefore, the very people seeking justice were those who had survived Jim Crow, and many cases real plantation life, especially the deeper you went into the South. So these farmers had not only been denied access to loans and government programs, they had been denied access to education and basic rights of being able to register to vote, and then would have to have some extraordinary courage to actually go the polls and vote. Fortunately for me, my father and mother were one of the few farmers who had completed high school, could read and write, had educated his children “to get a better job,” but not educated away from the farm and the land.

During the struggle to save our farmland, Dad would often remind us that “the only legacy the Black farmer had to leave his children was the land.” What a profound statement. A people who had amassed more than sixteen million acres of land through some of the most treacherous times in America’s history, those who were the “middle class” in many of the Black communities building churches and schools and owners of small businesses that employed other Blacks, and though most of my generation would say the work was pure hell, these independent business people provided summer employment for many teenagers (please let us not debate this issue) too, and genuinely believed that their government would protect them.

The Black farmer and landowner and the small independent business men and women were actually major sustainers of the Civil Rights Movement in the South by being able to put up there land to bail the demonstrators out house and feed them with real food from home grown gardens and pasture raised meat. However, this “little” contribution has paled in comparison to the stories of the northern dollars that came to pay travel and other expenses for the freedom riders.

So a group of the least expected citizens of the United States; those who were least educated formally, and those who truly trusted their government to do right by them settled the largest Civil Rights claim against the government in history. Now, isn’t it interesting that in 1996 when the first African American was appointed Secretary of the USDA, that there was a law passed to tax all Civil Rights Awards and Settlements with the government.

Each day, the national office of the Black Farmers & Agriculturalists Association (BFAA) receives from five to seven calls regarding the Pigford Class. Forty per cent of them are members of the class still trying to get their case through Adjudicator and/or the Monitor. Fifty percent are those who have been fooled along the way by a break-a-way group from BFAA who took people for a ride by taking money from them through a scheme that the people believed would get them into the Pigford Class. And the other ten percent are actually claimants that have tracking numbers and may have an opportunity to pursue their claims under the Black farmer section of the 2008 Farm Bill.

Periodically, I will send short stories here that will help people know that the Black farmer is still struggling and still attempting to seek justice from a government that actually allowed racism and discrimination to be part of its laws. Hopefully, sensitive people will understand that you cannot deny an entire population to be denied its rights and expect that same population to come forth without questioning a government that continues to allow these practices to rule.

Pigford Class Up Again

Congress finally passed the 2007 Farm Bill in 2008. One component to it is an amendment that will allow more than 60 thousand LATE CLAIMS to the now historic PIGFORD VS USDA CLASS ACTION. However, many people are under the impression that the law suit has been reopened. BFAA makes it very clear that the law suit is not re-opened for new claims. Hopefully people are not being taken in by those who would mislead them.

From what we here at BFFA understand, here is how the new legislation works:

You must have a letter from the Arbitrator saying that you were denied because your claim was late. If you have lost your letter, then the Monitor’s Office (1-877-924-7483) will have a Tracking Number for you. The Monitor’s Office is open Monday - Friday. Even if you cannot find your letter, if you truly have a late claim, your name will be there.

Then you will need to get an attorney. What congress has done only allows for you to see if you qualify as a Pigford Claimant. You will still need to prove that you or your relative was discriminated against.

If you need an attorney, we can suggest that you contact the Land Loss Prevention Project (LLPP) in North Carolina at 1-800-672-5839 or you contact Chestnut and Sanders at 1-866-492-6200 or 334-975-9264 in Alabama

If you have further questions, please feel free to contact the BFAA office at 252-826-2800.

Hopefully everyone is aware that BFAA is a volunteer organization and any contributions are gladly accepted in order that we might be able to keep the organization going. There is no paid staff.

Pigford Claimants and Reopening Pigford Case

June 3, 2008

Dear Pigford Claimant:

FINALLY A DECISION!!!! Congress has passed a bill that will allow those who filed late for the Pigford Class Action, Black farmers law suit, to seek damages. One draw back to this congressional action is that there is a $100 million cap to pay the more than 60,000 claims. BFAA is working with Attorney Rose Sanders to have the cap lifted, but cannot promise anything. At any rate, if you have a claim in, have a denial letter and a tracking number, you will be allowed to file a lawsuit or participate in a class action lawsuit to pursue your claim. You will need good legal council, and BFAA can with good conscious recommends the firm of CHESTNUT, SANDERS, SANDERS, PETTAWAY & CAMPBELL, L.L.C as one such firm. You can reach this firm at 1-866-492-6200 (toll free).

In the past Pigford case, attorney fees were paid by the government. But the new legislation does not a re-open the old Pigford case. Therefore, all of the terms are not clear, but it looks as if the claimant will have to pay attorney fees.

If you are looking for a lawyer and or legal firm to represent you in this matter, please call Rose Sanders at your earliest convenience. Sanders has assured BFAA that if attorney fees must be paid by the claimant their Firm's will be reasonable.

For the past ten years, this firm has served thousands of farmers honestly and respectfully.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact the BFAA office at

252-826-2800 or call the law firm at 1-866-492-6200.

Yours for the Survival of Black Farmers,

Gary R. Grant, President

Pigford Class Hopefuls BEWARE OF SCAMS!

PIGFORD CLASS HOPEFULS

BEWARE OF THOSE WHO WOULD RIP YOU OFF!!!

Based on information gathered at the 10th National Black Land Loss Summit, the more than 60,000 Late Claims for the historic Black Farmers Class Action – Pigford vs. Glickman, farmers, their decendents and heirs who are looking forward to becoming part of the lawsuit should be cautioned about signing “legal papers and retaining attorneys” before the US Congress and President George W. Bush pass and sign the 2007 Farm Bill. As in the past, there are always those lurking to see, once again, how they can profit from the struggles and catastrophes of others. What needs to be known:

1. How much money will be allocated by Congress?
2. What will be the process for people to have their cases evaluated?
3. What requirements will one have to meet?
4. Does being admitted for evaluation mean I will be successful in the Class?
5. What legal fees will be paid by the government and what legal fees will the claimant be responsible for?
6. How much is a lawyer charging for his/her services?
7. Can anyone other than lawyers file papers for you?

Then you must also consider JUST HOW MUCH PROOF do you have to prove discrimination. It has been the position of BFAA since Attorney Al Pires and the USDA agreed on this “Consent Decree,” that the government would find as many ways as possible to prevent those who have experienced the USDA’s discrimination to simply stall and hold off until the farmer is no longer willing to undergo the torture, is in such a state of ill health that real facts can no longer be recalled or may have died. Decendents trying to carry the case forward may not have all the facts, papers and other pieces needed to be successful in the process.

BFAA cautions on this issue based on the fact that almost 40% of the original claimants were denied and 10 years after Pigford successful claimants are still trying to collect.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact the BFAA office at 252-826-2800 or tillery@aol.com.

The 10th National Black Land Loss Summit was held February 15-17, 2008, held in the Historic Communities of the Tillery Resettlement Farm and the Franklinton Center at Bricks, with 13 states represented and speakers from the Pigford Monitor’s Office, the USDA Office of Civil Rights, Researchers, Activists and farmers and landowners, all who are dealing with the Pigford Class Action.