3A
NEWa^e Charlotte $osit
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Farmers allege government bias against blacks continues
Continued from page 1A
courts independent monitor.
She was given quasi-judi
cial power to settle the claims
of any black farmer who
could prove he or she farmed
and applied for some type of
USDA assistance between
1981 and 1996 and had been
discriminated against,
All claims were to be divid
ed into two tracks, A and B.
Track A was designed to be
less time intensive, farmers
who had filed complaints
were to provide some mea
sure of proof and be eligible
for a settlement of $50,000.
The USDA would also send
an additional $12,500 to the
Internal Revenue Service to
cover past taxes.
As of the end of 2004,
22,369 claims had been
approved for adjudication in
Ttack A; 13,532 of those had
been found valid, 61 pavent.
Tb date, more than $843
million has been paid to
Track A claimants, according
to Roth’s 2004 report.
lyack B was designed for
those with larger, more
detailed claims that resulted
in actual damage. There was
no limit on damages that
could be awarded through
this track. Of Ihe 238 claims
sent down this road, half
were either converted to
Thack A or settled before a
heaiit^.
Eighteen Track B claims
were awarded by the monitor,
with the average award being
$551,587,
The black farmers feel
Earle moves up in effectiveness ranking
Continued from page 1A
Respondents rated legisla
tors’ effectiveness based on
committee work, guiding biUs
throx^h committees and floor
debates and expertise in spe
cial fields. Consideration was
also given lawmakers’ rela
tionship with peers, political
power and ability to sway
lawmakers’ opinions.
“The rankings of atten
dance and votir^ participa
tion teU ■ citizens how often
their legislator was there to
represent them,” said Ran
Coble, the center’s director.
“The effectiveness rankings
tell citizens how effective
their legislator was when he
or she was there. The surveys
hold a mirror up to the legis
lature, and die rankings are
the reflection.”
Earle, a six-term incum
bent and chair of the
Legislative Black Caucus,
ranked 29th in 2003, her pre-
vioxis best. She is the high
est-ranking Afiican American
lawmaker on the House list;
Thomas Wright of
Wilmington is right behind at
13.
Earle said the survey’s find
ings are gratifying, but fleet-
ir^. After all, it’s based on
opinion.
“The only time I think
about it is where it comes
out,” she said. “Then I forget
about it and go out and do
what I’m doing.”
Mecklenbxoig’s top lavraiak-
er is House Speaker Jim
Black of Matthews, who is
No. 1 for the fourth straight
study. Mecklenburg repre
sentatives Martha Alexander
(27) and Becky Carney (29)
made the top 30. Pete
Cunningham finished 50th.
In the 50-member Senate,
the most effective
Mecklenbuig legislator was
Sen. Dan Clodfelter at No. 4.
Charlie Dannelly was 21st,
Dannelly
Graham
duped by the process for
many reasons, the largest
beir^ the size of the dass
itself
A stipulation in the settle
ment set a deadline for filing
a claim to enter the dass, a
deadline the National Black
Farmers Assodation feels
wasn’t properly advertised to
potential htigants, thereby
cutting off more than 70,000
of them.
The monitor did allow more
than 2,000 of these late appli
cants to enter, but felt it was
properly advertised and
therefore didn’t allow that as
an excuse. The court upheld
this decision.
Smith said he hopes the
farmers, 300 finm each state,
wfil turn out in Washington
to protest this and other
inequities.
“Were going to march for
justice,” he said. ‘Were going
to stand at Fourteenth and
Independence (in fixmt of
USDA headquarters), meet
with representatives and try
to get these issues resolve.
USDA public spokesman
Ed Loyd said the agenc}’' is in
no way shirkir^ the responsi
bilities set forth in the settle
ment and respects thdr ri^t
to be heard.
“We have moved pretty
clearly in saying this is some
thing important we want to
live up to. If there is an
instance where there is some
kind of dispute, its something
we want to know about.”
up two spots fi.*om the 2003
session and two places below
the highest-ranking black
senator, Jeanne Lucas of
Durham..
Sen. Malcolm Graham fin
ished 39th in his freshman
term, while Robert Pittengei',
a two-term incumbent, fin
ished 47th.
New Orleans election draws grassroots activists
Continued from page 2A
Ajfrican-Americans - who
made up 63 percent of the
New Orleans electorate -
might lose political clout
because of displacement.
However, if the trend for
early voting and absentee
ballots holds. Blades will vote
in the same proportion that
they did prior to Hurricane
Katrina, election offidals pre
dict.
Still, Melanie Campbell,
president and CEO of the
NCBCP, remains concerned.
“You’re talking about
upwards of a hundred thou
sand who are displaced, as
far as voters,” Campbell says.
“So that’s a lot of people, and
the numbers so far that have
come in show there’s a large
hurdle to get to a high
turnout in this election. I
don’t expect one. But, I’m an
optimist. We’re goir^ to do
everything we can,”
She wishes the state offi-
dals had done everything
within their power before
now, such as establish satel
lite voting outlets aroimd the
country
“They should have been
allowed to vote where ever
they are like we did for the
Iraqi people and the govam-
ment paid for it with our tax
dollars,” Campbell said.
“This is one situation in
which I would not hazard to
guess. I wouldn’t have a due,”
says Ron Walters, University
of Maryiand political sden-
tist, who is usually brimming-
with predictions and analy
sis. However Walters did say
that the intricate problems of
former New Crleans resi
dents will play a major role in
whether they will partidpate.
‘T would imagine that a lot
of them are trying to deal
with survival issues, which
compheates any judgment
about how many will get on a
bus and come to New
Crleans, even for one day to
vote,” says Walters.
Issues that have angered
New Crleans residents
include offidals’ failure to
provide transportation for the
poor out of the dty before
Katrina hit Aug. 29, the fail
ure to provide basic food and
shdter for those who were
trapped, and the amount of
time it has taken fixim many
to be able to turn into homes
that are inhabitable.
“We’re taUdng about com
munities where they have not
even turned on the lights,
commxmities where they
have not even picked up the
trash,” says Syivain. “Now
those are physical thic^ that
it does not take the rocket sd-
entist to figure out. But,
somehow those tasks have
not been accomplished.”
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