Greene County Democrat

Tag: Dr. Dewayne Goldman

  • Federation holds 56th Annual Meetings; vows to help every Black farmer in the South that wants to file a discrimination application by October 31 deadline

    Pictured: Crowd at Annual Meeting and Mrs Xernona Clayton getting award

    By: John Zippert, Democrat Co-Publisher

    The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund held its 56th. Annual Meeting last Thursday to Saturday, August 17-19, 2023. Thursday’s activities, including the Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement Award banquet, were held at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Birmingham and Friday and Saturday’s activities were held at the Federation’s Rural Training and Research Center, near Epes, Alabama.

    At the business meeting on Saturday, Cornelius Blanding, Federation’s Executive Director stated, “We want to help every Black farmer in the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, where we have offices and staff, to prepare and submit an application for assistance if they were discriminated against in the USDA farm lending process, before January 1, 2021.

    “We will be holding open weekly sessions in each state to meet with farmers to explain the program and help people to fill out the 40-page application for assistance correctly, including all necessary required documents. We will also be scheduling one-on-one conferences with farmers to help them with these DFAP applications. We have a short timeline to reach everyone since the current deadline date for this program is October 31, 2023, just 69 days away, from today.”

    Blanding said that the Federation, is one of nine “cooperator organizations” funded by USDA to help farmers with the DFAP process.
    Other organizations that are participating and helping are listed on the USDA website: http://www.22007apply.gov.

    USDA officially announced the availability of applications for DFAP in mid-July. Section 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act, passed a year ago, contains $2.2 Billion for payments to any farmers discriminated against by USDA in farm loan programs. Any farmer who borrowed or attempted to borrow for farming purposes is eligible to apply and must “tell their story” of mistreatment by the government agencies in providing the assistance or in not providing the requested assistance.

    Farmers are required to scan and upload documents, including two forms of identification, an IRS W-9 form, their land deed or leases, farm plans, receipts for farm related purchases, any correspondence or records
    (receipts for service) received from USDA agencies, actual loan documents, statements under penalty of perjury from neighbors and non-related parties who know of the discrimination and any other relevant materials.

    Attorney Dania Davy, the Federation’s Director of Land Retention said, “this is not another lawsuit, this is a different process, handled by USDA contracted third parties. It is similar to the lawsuits in terms of the information needed to establish discrimination but different in terms of the payments and requirements.”

    Davy continued, “This time the process is only open to living people who directly experienced discrimination, with one exception to those who formally were assigned a debt by a deceased borrower, who was discriminated against. This DFAP process is not for heirs and estates, as some of the prior lawsuits and settlement were.”

    Federation staff are advising farmers to go to the DFAP website at:
    http://www.22007apply.gov, to read and look at the program information, frequently asked questions, document checklist and the 40-page application itself.

    Attorney Hank Sanders of Selma, who is working with the Federation on this DFAP process said the first time he saw the 40-page application,
    “It was intimidating and a daunting experience; but after I read through it and started working with it, I determined it was a good way for farmers, with help from groups like the Federation, to tell their story and make their case for monetary assistance toward past discrimination.”

    In this process, there is no minimum payment (like the $50,000 in the lawsuits). The maximum payment to one individual farmer will be $500,000.
    The minimum payment is based on the total number of applications received, the severity of, and damages caused by the discrimination. Some preference for helping farmers, who are still working on the land, is implied but not officially stated.

    In addition to the discussion and workshops on the DFAP -22007 Discrimination Farmers Assistance Program, representatives of USDA including Dr. Dewayne Goldman, Special Assistant to the Secretary for Equity, Zack Ducheneaux, FSA National Director and Scott Marlow, Assistant to the FSA Director, were present to speak to other programs of USDA. They explained the borrower’s relief, Section 22006, available to farmers with current FSA loans, who had financial difficulties in repayment, related to COVID, weather conditions and other problems.

    There was a workshop on the heirs property programs, including the Heirs Property Relending Program which has allocated $5 million to the Federation, through Shared Capital, a mid-west CDFI, for loans to help clear titles and purchase the interests of heirs, no longer interested in owning property. This program is prepared to begin considering loans in coming weeks. Heirs must meet a series of requirements, available from the Federation, to be able to file an application.

    There were also tours of the Federation’s forestry and agro-forestry demonstrations at the Rural Training and Research Center. The evening was completed with a fish fry and a tasting of shrimp and beef kabobs from two new co-ops from Texas, the Matagorda Bay Fishing Co-op, and the Agri-Unity Beef Producers Co-op.

    On Thursday evening in Birmingham, the Federation held its 22nd annual Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement Award Banquet. The award is named for a founding member of the Federation and long-time manager of the Freedom Quilting Bee of Alberta and Gee’s Bend, (Wilcox County) Alabama.

    The Federation gave the award to Ms. Xernona Clayton, a 92-year-old veteran civil rights and communications personality from Atlanta. She did public relations work for Dr. King and SCLC, was an executive at Turner Broadcasting and involved in the civil rights and human rights movement in Atlanta and the southern states. Ms. Clayton praised the Federation for its work with farmers and other poor people in the region and said she was humbled in receiving the award.

    For more information on the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF go to their website at: http://www.federation.coop or call 404/765-0991 or 205/652-9676.

     

     

  • USDA provides $5 million Heir Property Lending Fund
    Federation celebrates 55th Annual Meeting

    Rev Bernard Lafayette (center) receives Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement Award at Federation dinner; joined by L. To R. Cornelius Blanding, Federation Executive Director and Board members, Carrie Fulghum, Shirley Blakely, Helen Fields and Raymond Olds.
    Federation Attorney Dania Davy, Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Cornelius Blanding, Federation Executive Director
    Charles O. Prejean, first Executive Director of the Federation and his wife, Carmen Prejean speaking at Witherspoon award dinner
    Part of crowd at Federation Annual Meeting at Epes
    Cornelius Blanding giving his report at the Federation’s Business Meeting.

    The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund celebrated its 55th Annual Meeting this past weekend.

    The program began on Thursday evening, August 18, 2022, with the 21st Annual Estelle Witherspoon Lifetime Achievement Award Dinner, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. Rev. Bernard Lafayette, veteran civil rights leader, and teacher of Kingian non-violence, received the award named for Estelle Witherspoon, former manager of the Freedom Quilting Bee and a founding member of the Federation.

    In his remarks, accepting the award, Rev. Lafayette said,” I am honored to receive this award from the Federation which has helped Black farmers and poor people change and impact their communities for 55 years. I urge you to involve more young people in your movement like we did in the 1960’s. Young people and students will make the difference in internalizing and institutionalizing the cooperative movement.”

    Earlier in the day, there was a press conference at the hotel, where Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, announced a $5 million Heirs Property Relending Fund allocation to the Federation, in conjunction with Shared Capital, a CDFI, which will used to make loans to Black families with heir property problems.

    The Heirs Property Relending Program was included in the 2018 Farm Bill after vigorous advocacy efforts by the Federation, Intertribal Agriculture Council, and the Rural Coalition. The Trump Administration delayed writing regulations to implement the needed program. Secretary Vilsack, under the Biden Administration, completed the regulations and put our the first call for proposals this year. The allocation to the Federation and two Indian land organizations, were the first made from the program.

    Secretary Bronaugh indicated that the Federation would also receive an augmented Cooperative Agreement to provide technical and legal assistance to families encountering heir property issues. In his remarks accepting the announcement, Cornelius Blanding, Federation Executive Director said,”60% of all Black land is now owned jointly by families in heir property status. The Federation and Emergency Land Fund have been working on this problem for 45 years and these funds will help us to do a more effective job for our members and others with heir property problems.”

    Attorney Dania Davy, who heads the Federation’s Land Retention Program, said “We are pleased to receive these funds which will enable families to clear titles, deal with reluctant heirs, and access more USDA resources. This will impact Black landowners with over a million acres, with a conservative value of $15 billion across our nation.

    On Friday and Saturday, the meeting shifted to the Federation’s Rural Training and Research Center, near Epes, Alabama. Over 400 people from the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, and Texas attended the workshops, tours, demonstrations, prayer breakfast and business meeting held there over the next two days.

    Friday began with a panel of USDA program representatives explaining their agency efforts at creating more equity and diversity in their staff and work.

    Dr. Dewayne Goldman, Special Assistant for Equity to Secretary Vilsack, explained the Biden’s Administration’s equity efforts by saying, “Suppose you had three people standing outside a baseball stadium, with a six-foot fence, to see the game. One was 5 feet, one was 5 foot seven, and one was 6 feet tall. If each was given a one-foot stool stand on, this would be equality, everyone gets the same; but the smaller person would still not be able to see the game. Equity is needed to give each person the right size stool so they can actually see the game. Black farmers and other underserved farmers will receive equity in receiving and utilizing USDA resources.”

    Goldman then explained the new sections in the just passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which will benefit Black farmers and other underserved and financially distressed farmers. He was joined remotely on a zoom by Adam Zipkin with Senator Cory Booker’s office and Brandon Honeycutt from Senator Raphael Warnock’s office, who are on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and were influential in getting these provisions into the Inflation Reduction Act.

    Goldman explained that the IRA, rescinds Section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan, which contained debt forgiveness for all BIPOC farmers. These provisions were challenged in Federal Court by white farmers, saying the provisions were discriminatory towards them and unconstitutional. These farmers and their right-wing allies stopped the program implementation.

    The IRA contains $3.1 billion for loan modifications for farmers in financial distress and facing foreclosure. The IRA also contains $2.2 billion for farmers who suffered discrimination in receiving financial assistance from USDA.

    Goldman asked for comments and assistance in drafting the regulations for implementation of these two sections in the IRA. He promised that “USDA would work expeditiously to get this relief to farmers who need assistance and to prevent foreclosures.”

    On Friday afternoon workshops were held on Cooperative Development and Heirs Property issues. The day ended with a fish fry and auction.

    Saturday’s program began with a Prayer Breakfast, with women wearing hats to honor deceased Kentucky Board member Mattie Mack. Rev. Wendell Paris preached a sermon based on Jeremiah 31.31, which deals with a new covenant with God. The prayer breakfast was followed by the annual business meeting, state caucus and the awarding of scholarship to four young people headed to college.

    For more information on the work and programs of the Federation, go to the website: http://www.federation.coop, or call 205-652-9676 in Epes or 404-765-0991 in East Point, GA.