Civil Rights & Social Justice

It remains unclear how much money will go to Black farmers.

Five white farmers sued USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in his official capacity, alleging reverse discrimination for granting federal aid to Black farmers, in particular.

Former USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack's controversial firing of Shirley Sherrod in 2010 should preclude him from leading the agriculture agency under Joe Biden's administration, civil rights leaders and advocates say.

Politics

Many Black farmers remain skeptical of Tom Vilsack’s return as USDA secretary but applaud new targeted measures to address their long-ignored concerns.

From CNN.com: Shirley Sherrod, who was forced to resign from her government job in Georgia based on incomplete and misleading reports of a speech she gave, has been offered a new job by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack But, she said Thursday she is “not so sure.”

The Shirley Sherrod debacle, yet again, reveals an ugly and unfortunate truth. This country is suffering from a psychological disorder. Joy Leary calls it “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome.”  Whatever it is, it’s clear that we have been traumatized not only by our despicable history of slavery and racism but our ongoing refusal to deal with […]