But the struggle is far from a settled matter because hundreds of Black farmers don't accept the decree in its present form. They are fighting to make it closer to what Black farmers need and deserve. The stronger this fight, the greater will be the possibility of strengthening the decree and implementing the gains that are part of it. The federal judge who gave preliminary approval to the "settlement" has, in fact, set March 2 as the date for a fairness hearing where challenges to the decree on behalf of farmers can be presented.
All fighters for social justice and full equality for Blacks must now campaign with urgency to get the truth out about:
The ongoing fight against decades-long USDA racist discrimination and its devastating effects on Black farm families;
The fact there is no settlement yet; and
That hundreds of farmers oppose the decree.
We urge all those who toil for a living to participate in meetings the attorneys for the Black farmers are calling between now and March 2 to try to sell the decree. To set up meetings in union halls, at college campuses, and the countryside for representatives of the farmers who are continuing the fight to help get out the facts and broaden support for their struggle. And to publicize and build the national demonstration in Washington, D.C., on March 2 called by Black farmers' leaders.
Many Black farmers who have lost their farms or continue to be burdened by enormous debts will be forced to accept this offer. But the settlement reveals the inability of the government to address in any fundamental way many years of government indifference and outright abuse of Black farmers.
As Black farm leaders have pointed out there is no guarantee the government will implement even its piddly settlement. An earlier moratorium on government foreclosures against Black farmers who had filed discrimination complaints was ignored by some state agencies of the USDA. None of those responsible for blatant racist discrimination, which the fight around the suit has forced the government to admit, will be removed from their post. In press reports across the country, Black farmers have explained that no amount of money, not to mention $50,000, can compensate for the government's assault on their dignity, loss of livelihoods, and the havoc wreaked upon their families. Nor is the financial compensation protected against claims by private lenders to whom Black farmers were forced to turn as a result of government refusal to grant them loans.
Gallons of ink were poured on the front pages of the New York Times and other big-business dailies to give the impression that the more than a decade long battle is over. They had announced the "settlement" more than a month earlier, but had been unable to bulldoze militant farmers. Only the struggle by Black farmers and their supporters among workers and youth has forced the government to seek a settlement. The persistence of these exploited producers on the land is confirmation of the coming resurgence of the fight for Black freedom and the politically inspiring impact of this struggle on workers, students, and other farmers. It will give impetus to fights to defend affirmative action, against police brutality, for equality on the job, and other struggles.
The outcome of this fight is inseparably linked to the breadth of support among the toiling majority. Working-class fighters should spare no effort to win backing for Black farmers among hundreds of anthracite coal miners fighting in Pennsylvania, poultry workers on strike in southern Indiana, striking Steelworkers at Kaiser Aluminum, and others involved in similar fights taking place today.
Now is the time to help bring militant Black farmers to these picket lines and help organize as many of these trade unionists as possible to turn out in Washington for the March 2 demonstration!