The AAM convention brought together farmers from Texas, Oklahoma, and other Midwest and western states, and was also billed as a reunion of participants of the 1978 tractorcade protest in Washington, D.C. AAM leader David Senter stressed the importance of the upcoming action, saying "When you have unity of labor, environmentalists, and farmers you have power. We need to use this power. We need to make sure we get our message out, not some whitewash by the Department of Agriculture [USDA]."

Rudell Lee, a member of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association (BFAA) from Oklahoma, was invited to speak before the AAM convention. Lee explained that the fight of Black farmers against foreclosures and racist and sexist discrimination by the USDA continues in spite of a settlement being put into effect by the Clinton administration.

He invited AAM members to participate in a BFAA-sponsored protest February 28 at a hearing on the settlement in Washington, D.C. The event will be held at the Federal Court Building at Third Street and Constitution at 9:30 a.m. Lee received a warm response from the AAM activists, exchanging phone numbers to keep in closer contact.

Ray Parsons is a member of the United Steelworkers of America in Des Moines, Iowa.  
 
 
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