In re Keepseagle v. Vilsack: "Will Obama's USDA Atone for Decades of Racism?"
AlterNet
Kari Lydersen
3/18/2010
For decades, rampant racism blocked access to critical government farm loans for thousands of farmers. President Obama appears ready to change that.
EXCERPT
Native American North Dakota ranchers George and Marilyn Keepseagle applied for their first loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture back in 1975, hoping to buy higher quality livestock. George, now 69, remembers having the strange feeling that the county loan officer charged with evaluating their application didn't seem to want them to succeed.
Two decades later, after struggling to get USDA loans to help recover from storms, low cattle prices and other calamities, the Keepseagles have no doubt the county loan officers did not have their best interests in mind.
The Keepseagles allege the USDA's farm loan program unfairly forced them to sell 380 acres of George's family land in 1999, wreaking financial havoc on their lives and pushing them into foreclosure. They are the lead plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit charging that tens of thousands of Native Americans suffered about a billion dollars in economic damage because of blatant discrimination at county USDA loan offices.
Native American farmers hope the Pigford II settlement ($1.25 billion to plaintiffs) is an indication that they too will finally be granted justice. Lead attorney Joe Sellers noted that there are many more Native American than black farmers and ranchers. The 2007 USDA census counted 32,938 black farmers and 61,472 Native American farmers, meaning the award for Native Americans could be substantially larger than the $2.25 billion designated for Pigford.
"We have to be mindful of the importance of negotiating meaningful relief that is not diluted by an unexpectedly large response from eligible farmers and ranchers," said Sellers.