Author Archives: will atwater

Hello all, The following article is a must-read and can be found, along with much more great material, at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s website (https://www.splcenter.org). If you aren’t familiar with the center’s work, please visit the site. Written by Dwayne Fatherree February 18, 2022 By any definition, Kendall Rae Johnson is an exceptional child. Continue reading “Fighting to Grow: Black farmers continue to battle systemic discrimination”

The 3 videos I’ve posted below provide more context for the NPR story (U.S. Farmers of Color Were About To Get Loan Forgiveness. Now The Program Is On Hold by Joe Hernandez) I shared back on June 14, 2021, regarding the Biden Administration’s efforts to provide a financial remedy to farmers of color who haveContinue reading “Drama in Texas”

The following audio piece is part of a story published by NPR on October 10, 2021, titled “A Black family got their beach back — and inspired others to fight against land theft.” To read the print version complete with photos, visit the NPR website. https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1043821492/1044450858

https://www.today.com/video/many-black-american-farmers-face-a-difficult-hurdle-proof-of-land-ownership-118739525525

(This segment aired on CBS This Morning on 07/13/2021)

(NPR published this story on Friday, June 11, 2021) U.S. Farmers Of Color Were About To Get Loan Forgiveness. Now The Program Is On Hold June 11, 20212:17 PM ET JOE HERNANDEZTwitter A new federal program created by the Biden administration to reverse years of economic discrimination against U.S. farmers of color has ground toContinue reading

Just in case you didn’t see this when it aired on CBS This Morning … https://www.cbsnews.com/video/black-farmers-at-the-crossroads-of-racial-inequity-and-climate-change/#x

This article was posted today on the USDA’s website, so I thought I’d repost it here. In the weeks to come, I look forward to following the rollout of the program mentioned below and to speaking with farmers who qualify for it. My goal is to document this process in hopes of gauging the impactContinue reading “Happy Spring!”

This story aired February 2, 2021 on marketplace.org and was reported by Leoneda Inge (click on title to listen to the story). New generation is helping to revive Black-owned farms For generations, Black-owned farms have struggled, and they’ve all but disappeared in many parts of the country. Julius Tillery, a fifth-generation cotton farmer, is trying toContinue reading “In Case You Missed It…”