USDA: THE LAST PLANTATIONUSDA has been called “the last plantation,” according to Lloyd Wright, USDA
USDA: THE LAST PLANTATIONUSDA has been called “the last plantation,” according to Lloyd Wright, USDA’s director of civil rights in 1997-98 and a 38-year employee for USDA. That’s because these agencies:Denied operating loansDelayed loan paymentsProvided limited access to programsDidn’t inform Black farmers of programs that could improve their farmland.Meanwhile, white farmers had few of these problems, Wright says. “That’s because of the local control, at the county level. You almost need to eliminate the county committees and local controls. Agriculture’s unique for that kind of county control, which sounds good for some folks. But not Black folk,” says Wright, who has since retired. “Local control is good, providing that you have a system of oversight to avoid having those local folk take care of themselves, their family, and their friends. In which case, Blacks have happened not to be any of the above, and they normally didn’t get services.” If you’re looking for an example of “systemic racism” outside of the criminal justice system, look no further.The webpage for this article includes links to other, related articles Successful Farming has published in recent years. Feel free to dig deeper. -- source link
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