Black Farmers, USDA Agree to $1.25 Billion Settlement

[Liberal_in_LA]

Black Farmers, USDA Agree to $1.25 Billion Settlement

By LAUREN ETTER
A group of black farmers reached a $1.25 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture over a longstanding civil-rights case that had cast a pall over the agency for decades.

In a conference call Thursday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said the settlement would close a "sordid chapter in USDA history."

"This is a very historic, emotional day for black farmers," said John Boyd Jr., president of the National Black Farmers Association who once traveled 200 miles in a mule-drawn wagon from Baskerville, Va., to Washington to raise awareness about black farmers. "But the administration is going to have to help me finish the job."

Thursday's settlement, which remains contingent on the money being appropriated by Congress, stems from a 1997 class-action civil-rights lawsuit, Pigford v. Glickman, that was filed by three African-American farmers alleging the USDA had discriminated against them and other black farmers.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704269004575073820593191804.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5

[Canuckistanian]

1. Wow, that dispute has been around for a long time

Glad to see it's finally resolved. As I recall, it was a fairly obvious pattern of discrimination - by several administrations.