Black Farmers Protest Alleged Discrimination
More than 150 black farmers claiming discrimination in federal crop loans staged a peaceful sit-in that shut down an Agriculture Department office.
The angry farmers first held a rally outside the small USDA office in this town 55 miles northeast of Memphis, and then they poured inside, sitting in the lobby and at desks, and taking over a conference room.
Protest organizer Thomas Burrell accused the government of conspiring “to force black farmers off the land.”
Carey Johnson, who directs farm subsidy programs for 12 Tennessee counties, greeted the protesters, then withdrew to an office to talk by phone with his superiors in Washington. He declined comment on those conversations.
Johnson said all crop loans in the district are handled the same way, regardless of an applicant’s race.
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