Seeking Justice for Black Farmers in Loan Bias Case - NYTimes.com: “Federal Spigot Flows as Farmers Claim Bias” (front page, April 26) degraded black farmers’ legal victory against racism in federal farm lending, calling it a “magnet for fraud.”
The article tarnished our long fight against racist Agriculture Department lending practices by implying that it was some sort of scam.
Black farmers are dignified, industrious, independent and proud. I am a fourth-generation farmer, and like my peers I have worked hard to pay off mortgages and find resources to keep farming. We work for what we get, and we want nothing more than our due. We deserve the same level of fairness in the press as we fought to get from our government. I have heard from many black farmers who despise being characterized as frauds.
It is hurtful to wage a long, difficult fight for a worthy cause, then have the successful outcome sliced and diced by a publication you have trusted and admired.
