Complain to USDA, says head of Black farmers' group after more members voice concerns
So, NewsChannel 3 took those latest complaints to the man in charge.'USDA is the culprit here, not BFAA,' exclaimed Thomas Burrell.
WREG investigates more complaints against Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association
That was the message to members, at least to those who turned to WREG with their complaints about the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association. Burrell is the founder and president of the organization.
WREG asked Burrell for a response to the numerous, additional complaints we've received from members.
Burrell responded, 'Well, the question is, what are they complaining about, ma'am?'
A more than six month long WREG investigation uncovered several complaints taken to state and federal regulators about BFAA.
Members demand answers from Black farmers advocacy group
Some members said they paid dues and were promised settlement money in return.Others members received denial letters from the USDA for its $2 billion Discrimination Financial Assistance Program because their applications were filed after the deadline, submitted by individuals they said were working with BFAA.
'If they're complaining about DFAP, you know what they ought to do, join us, because that's what we're doing,' Burrell told WREG.
The WREG Investigators further explained to Burrell details about complaints we'd received: 'The complaint is not about the application about DFAP, the complaint is about BFAA and you misleading them regarding DFAP.'
He responded, 'How much misleading is there? Are you gonna say that the surgeon general misleads people about smoking when he puts a warning on the back of a box of cigarettes.'
Surrounded by members, Burrell hosted a press conference on February 5, exactly one week after the WREG Investigators aired its series of stories.
Our newsroom has been flooded with phone calls and emails from even more BFAA members with complaints and questions, like Dortha Miller who says she just recently learned the application window for DFAP closed last year.
'So that really made me wonder why they still going around taking people's moneyand no one taking the applications anymore. The applications it cut off in January of 2024,and they took my money of September 2024,' said Miller.
'The money is gone. The program is not being re-extended yet and still, Mr. Burrell is convincing folks that they have a chance,' said Kiki Singletary-Williams.
WREG investigates more complaints against Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association
We recently shared the story of Singletary-Williams and her relatives, some who've belonged to BFAA members for two decades.
'You promised all of us $50,000, Mr. Burrell. Where is it? Some of my relatives are on up in age, they've been dependent on this,' said Singletary-Williams to WREG.
After suing the USDA to expand DFAP to include heir, BFAA's attorney recently presented their case to an appeals court. Burrell also used his time at the podium during the press conference to explain his push to get President Trump involved.
He told WREG, 'We're going to engage in a full, all out effort.'
The WREG Investigators asked Singletary-Williams, 'Are you confident that BFAA could get a response from the Trump administration that would be beneficial to its members?'
She replied, 'I'm confident on a scale of 1 to a million, zero.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Politico
17 minutes ago
- Politico
Kings County kumbaya for Mamdani
With help from Amira McKee THE UNI-TEA: Brooklyn Democrats can be a fractious, feuding bunch. Today, for a short while at least, they buried the hatchet. Bitter rivals stood side by side in boisterous support of Zohran Mamdani at the Flatbush Gardens housing complex, the second stop of the Democratic mayoral nominee's 'Five Boroughs Against Trump' tour. The group included the leader of the Kings County Democratic Party and members of the New Kings Democrats faction, which sprung up as the reformist response to county bosses. It featured moderate Democrats as well as progressives and democratic socialists. 'First of all, media, I need you to understand what's going on right now because I don't think this group of people agree about nothing,' Public Advocate Jumaane Williams observed to chuckles before he launched into his remarks. Williams said New York Democrats more broadly should follow their example in supporting the party's nominee for mayor. Key party and Brooklyn leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Yvette Clarke, were not in attendance and have yet to endorse Mamdani. Mamdani defeated Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary seven weeks ago, but many in his party say they still don't know the young Queens state assemblymember well enough to get behind him. Some say his proposals to freeze rent and make buses free are too unrealistic. Others cite his criticisms of Israel and his reluctance to condemn the phrase 'globalize the intifada' as reasons for concern. Mamdani has struggled to shore up support among politically moderate Black and Jewish voters. For House Democrats focused on winning the majority next year, there's additionally the concern that having a democratic socialist as the face of the party could hurt moderate Democrats in suburban battlegrounds. But their colleagues in state and city government said today in central Brooklyn that the party needs Mamdani to face President Donald Trump. State Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, chair of the county party, endorsed Eric Adams in 2021, Cuomo in this year's primary and Mamdani immediately after he trounced the former governor in June by nearly 13 points. 'People just don't understand that we all want the same thing,' Bichotte Hermelyn told Playbook, referring to Brooklyn Democrats. 'The little political fights, it's just surface. But we all want affordability. We're all fighting for a working class, we want equity, we want fairness.' The vibe had enough kumbaya to it that Bichotte Hermelyn and City Council Member Justin Brannan stood next to each other. Yes, the same two Democrats who waged one of the nastiest intraparty clashes in recent memory during Brannan's 2023 campaign. (She revived bullying accusations against him, he won without party resources and concluded on election night that she's 'gotta go.') Progressive New Kings members had praise for both Mamdani and Bichotte Hermelyn in explaining how a diverse cross-section of Democrats could get on the same page. 'It's indicative of his campaign and who he is,' Council Member Crystal Hudson said of Mamdani. 'If all of us can come together behind him, he's doing something.' Council Member Chi Ossé told Playbook, 'I really do applaud Rodneyse on immediately getting into lockstep and showing that Democratic unity is important here. ... I think the entire party needs to continue doing what we're doing in there.' — Emily Ngo From the Capitol GOP SPLIT IN ASSEMBLY SPECIAL: Republicans are beginning to coalesce around a candidate for the looming special election to replace Democratic Assemblymember Billy Jones — but not the party leader with the most say in choosing a nominee. Malone Mayor Andrea Dumas locked down support from Rep. Elise Stefanik last week. She was endorsed today by the Conservative Party and Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay. But Stefanik put out a lengthy statement this afternoon calling on Clinton County GOP Chair Jerika Manning to resign for 'threatening to tank' the special. 'I am not going to let her torpedo Republican candidates in the North Country,' Stefanik wrote. Manning controls 53 percent of the vote as party leaders choose a nominee for the race that'll likely be held on Election Day. Two individuals familiar with the situation said Stefanik's statement came about after the county chair declined to join other Republican leaders in endorsing Dumas and continued searching for a new candidate. Manning did not return a request for comment. Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman has been widely seen as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Bridie Farrell, a Child Victims Act advocate and former speed-skater who briefly ran against Stefanik in 2022, formally joined the Democratic field today as well. — Bill Mahoney NOT SWEATING: Gov. Kathy Hochul shrugged at a Siena University poll released this morning that found Stefanik, a potential gubernatorial rival, running competitively in the suburbs and among independent voters. 'I'll let you all figure it out,' she told reporters. 'I'm working hard every single day putting money back in peoples' pockets, making streets safer and fighting the damn Trump administration.' The survey found Hochul with a 14-point lead over Stefanik, 45 percent to 31 percent. The gap between the Democratic governor and the House Republican, while comfortable, is smaller than the 23-point difference Hochul held in June. 'I've been through countless polls and, guess what, team, there's going to be a lot more between now and November,' she added. — Nick Reisman ADULT LEARNERS EYE FREE TUITION: More than 16,500 New Yorkers applied to a free community college program for older students, Hochul announced this morning. The City University of New York received about 7,000 of the applications from students seeking associate degrees in high-demand fields, CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez said. The remainder went to the State University of New York. The initiative — aimed at adult learners between the ages of 25 and 55 — applies to the 37 community colleges run by SUNY and CUNY. The program, set to begin this fall, is part of Hochul's affordability push, as she faces a tough reelection bid next year. 'I'm going to keep doing my part, focusing on families — my fight is for your family,' Hochul said during a press conference at LaGuardia Community College in Queens. 'Focusing on affordability — this is a major part of it, but also putting more money back in people's pockets.' Hochul insisted the state 'has no limit' on the number of applicants because enrollment is still lower than it was before the Covid-19 pandemic. Some 4 million working-age adults in New York do not have a college degree or credential, according to the governor's office. State lawmakers and higher education advocates told POLITICO earlier this year that community colleges don't have enough money to implement the plan. The governor allocated $47 million in the state budget for the upcoming school year. When asked by Playbook about those concerns, Hochul pointed to record investments in SUNY and CUNY. — Madina Touré FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL TAKEOVER TAKES: Trump's unprecedented effort to take over law enforcement in Washington drew a reaction from Mayor Eric Adams today. Asked about Trump's actions, Adams touted recent decreases in major crime categories to make the case that New York City does not need the type of federal intervention playing out in the nation's capital. 'I'm not part of the group that says we don't want to work with the federal government, but we don't need anyone to come in and take over our law enforcement apparatus,' Adams, who is running for reelection as an independent, said during an unrelated news conference. 'We've got this under control.' Rival independent candidate Andrew Cuomo claimed the turn of events in Washington is 'exactly what will happen' if Mamdani wins the general election this fall, though Trump would be more limited in the control he could exert over the NYPD. 'Trump will flatten him like a pancake,' Cuomo posted Monday on X. 'In 2020, Trump sent the National Guard into other states. Not New York. There's only one person in this race who can stand up to Trump: the one who already has, successfully and effectively.' Mamdani warned Trump against trying a similar militarization in New York City, as the president has repeatedly floated, while chiding Cuomo for comments he made during a June CBS interview where he warned federal immigration officers are 'going to do things that are illegal and unconstitutional' but cautioned New Yorkers not to overreact. 'Donald Trump is not above the law and if he comes for New York City, he will have to go through me,' Mamdani said in a statement today. 'As Mayor, I will not downplay or enable his authoritarianism — and I certainly will not tell New Yorkers not to 'overreact' as Andrew Cuomo did when Trump's militia tried to bulldoze Los Angeles.' — Maya Kaufman and Joe Anuta ENDORSEMENT WATCH: Former Gov. David Paterson is set to endorse Adams' reelection bid during a Wednesday event at City Hall, according to a person with direct knowledge of the gathering. The nod comes a month after Paterson held a press conference that called for a united front to defeat Mamdani in the general election. So far, the former elected's wishes are not playing out. Neither Cuomo, Adams nor GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa have expressed any intention of dropping out of the race. Paterson backed Cuomo in the primary, but his support has waned after Cuomo's decisive loss to Mamdani in the June 24 primary. — Joe Anuta FROM CITY HALL GUILTY PLEA: A former Adams aide pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admitting to organizing a fundraiser for the mayor at which he knew money would be raised by illegal straw donations. Bahi's plea in Manhattan federal court comes four months after Judge Dale Ho dismissed the related charges against Adams after Trump's Department of Justice sought to drop the case. Bahi said that an unnamed 'volunteer of the campaign' had told him Adams' political operation would raise money by straw donations at a December 2020 fundraiser with Uzbek-American business leader Tolib Mansurov and would then seek to match the contributions with public funds. It wasn't clear which volunteer Bahi was referring to, though Adams' indictment suggests it was Ahsan Chugtai, another man who was later hired by Adams' City Hall as a Muslim community liaison. Adams adviser Frank Carone did not respond when asked about it, saying the case has 'no connection at all or relevance' to the Adams campaign. Adams' lawyers have maintained that he was not aware of any of the numerous confirmed illegal contributions to his 2021 campaign. Bahi did not respond when reporters asked how he felt about pleading guilty when Adams got off. Turkish-American developer Erden Arkan also pleaded guilty to making straw donations in January, and his sentencing is scheduled for this Friday. Bahi was hired as a Muslim liaison in the Mayor's Community Affairs Unit after Adams won. He resigned last October, the day before he was arrested and charged with witness tampering and destruction of evidence. He's been in plea discussions with the government since at least February. Bahi agreed to pay $32,000 restitution, Ho said, and could face up to six months in prison and a $20,000 fine at sentencing, which is scheduled for 18. — Jeff Coltin AROUND NEW YORK — SPY-FI: The Adams administration is using its flagship broadband program to give police real-time access to NYCHA camera feeds — without telling anyone. (New York Focus) — AI, ESQ.: A Queens judge is fining a landlord's attorney for using fake, AI-generated court cases to support his argument. (Hell Gate) — TEAM ZOHRAN: Mamdani is growing his inner circle, a group of trusted advisers that lean younger and farther left than that of his rivals. (New York Times) Missed this morning's New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Legends and patriots of Civil War to be honored Saturday in Theresa
Aug. 11—THERESA — The 160th anniversary of the end of the Civil War will be commemorated at a cemetery here on Saturday, where the spirit of local legends and patriots will arise. It will include headstone dedications and a talk by a Watertown native and retired attorney about his new book on the three "Patriot" Civil War soldiers in his family who found a new life in America. The legendary "Schule Bell" will make a special guest appearance at the event, making its first road trip since being moved from the old Theresa High School nearly 90 years ago. The free program at Oakwood Cemetery begins at noon when the Walter H. French Camp No. 17 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War will dedicate a few headstones, including that of Douglas Lucas, a young Black boy who aided Theresa soldiers during the Civil War. Lucas came back to Theresa with some returning soldiers to live after the war ended. He is not recognized as an official Civil War veteran, as he was too young to enlist and 13 when the war ended. Theresa Historian Timothy S. Minnick said that Indian River Central School Superintendent Troy Decker, a direct descendant of Theresa Civil War veteran August Kissel, will provide a narrative of the "Schule Bell." During the closing days of the Civil War, the bell from a Confederate locomotive was taken by Otis Brooks, a Theresa boy, and shipped home to Theresa in a coffin cleverly marked Schule Bell. Brooks sold the bell to Theresa High School and it hung in the old high school belfry until the new high school was built and the bell was retired. Minnick, who will offer Theresa history tours at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, teased, "There might be more to the Schule Bell story than we've always been told." Following the noon headstone dedications, Peter Kissel will discuss his new book, "Three Patriots: The Hopes and Trials of My Immigrant Ancestors in Civil War America." Kissel is a 1965 graduate of Watertown High School and a graduate of Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and the Washington College of Law. The retired attorney lives in Washington, D.C. "I was always very interested in the Civil War from my youngest days," Kissel said in a phone interview. "But I didn't know until middle age that I had any relatives who fought in the war." Those discoveries were eye-opening for him. The research for his book was bolstered by trips to Eastern theater Civil War battlefields where his ancestors fought and their footsteps traced to the National Archives, where they left behind invaluable pension records as to what they did following the war. The three central figures in the book, who were 18 and 19 years old when they enlisted, were each born in different countries — reflecting the worldwide attraction held for American ideals in the 19th century, Kissel said. August Kissel, from Germany and Theresa, enlisted in the 94th New York Infantry. His experience in the Civil War is one of the most storied among Northern New York soldiers of the war. The story of how he arrived in Theresa is also an adventure, which is explored by Kissel in his book. All three patriots profiled by Kissel were volunteers. The Smiths were his wife's ancestors. The Smith family landed at Sackets Harbor when they immigrated from Ireland in 1845. Richard Smith joined the 35th NY Regiment, and brother James Smith, the first of his family born in America, enlisted in the 186th New York. Both would receive eerily similar, and horrific, wounds. Kissel's book also explores the dynamics of public debate in the north country in the run up to the Civil War, and the uncertainties of life for immigrant families in the face of war, disease, and still-primitive but evolving medical practices. It also provides a compelling assessment of the war's life-altering impact on the soldiers through the end of their lives. August Kissel, a native of Germany, arrived in Theresa by stage coach in 1857, unable to speak a word of English, and $75 in debt to relatives. When he got off the train in Rome, he and a traveling companion did not have enough money to continue on to his relatives in Theresa. August and Mary Nell Hild obtained a loan in Rome, but had to stay there as a sort of collateral to ensure that the borrowed funds were repaid. "Apparently, family members in Theresa collected the amount and then returned to Rome to pay off the loan and retrieve August and Mary," Kissel said. August went to work to pay back his relatives. In Theresa, August was first employed by his brother, Peter, learning the trade of a stone mason. August would excel at it. On Memorial Day 1911, August dedicated the monument he built to the men from the north country who served in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and the Civil War. The dedication ceremony on May 30 was a grand occasion in Theresa, which had sent many young men to defend the Union. All three soldiers fought in key battles of the Civil War. Richard Smith, who enlisted shortly after the attack on Fort Sumter in April of 1861, was wounded at South Mountain, Maryland, in September of 1862. August was wounded four times and was also captured by Confederate forces. He was able to escape after bribing a guard at Salisbury Prison in North Carolina. In his book, Kissel also documents that adventure. James Smith was wounded seven months after he enlisted at Petersburg, Virginia, on April 2, 1865. Like his brother, he was shot in the face. James died in 1873 and Richard died in 1909. They rest together at Glenwood Cemetery in Watertown. August died March 29, 1923. He was laid to rest at Oakwood Cemetery, Theresa. His gravestone states, "Born in Germany." Kissel said that he originally planned to write a family history abut August's exploits. "But when I learned about the Smith brothers and started digging into their records, I started thinking larger. Everything kind of took off from there." As he got deep into writing the book, Kissel said he couldn't help but think about the roots of the "Three Patriots" and comparing that to today's anti-immigrant landscape in the U.S. "I thought it was reflective of America," he said. "I was educated in Watertown public schools. I remember from my earliest days there that the teachers taught us, with pride, that America is a melting pot. That has stuck with me. When I started writing the book, I wasn't thinking quite so deeply about where they came from. But by the time I got through with the book, it struck me how relevant it is in today's anti-immigrant climate and political debate." He added, "The whole story now seems more relevant than ever."
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. nonprofit embroiled in Dream Keeper scandal warns of ‘complete shutdown'
San Francisco's efforts to cut off a nonprofit from city funding for allegedly bribing a former city official is threatening the future of the organization's programs for needy kids and their families in the Western Addition. Attorneys for Collective Impact, the nonprofit embroiled in a scandal over its close ties to former San Francisco Human Rights Commission Executive Director Sheryl Davis, said in a legal filing Monday that the organization 'anticipates a complete shutdown of its programs by October.' The attorneys were arguing against an attempt by City Attorney David Chiu to prohibit Collective Impact from receiving city funding for five years. Chiu is seeking to debar Collective Impact after a joint investigation by his office and the controller found that the nonprofit had spent thousands on college tuition for Davis' son, paid for Davis to upgrade her flights to first class and covered costs related to her personal ventures — all while receiving millions from her department. If Chiu succeeds in debarring Collective Impact, the nonprofit would have to end its summer and afterschool programs and close the doors of its three-decade-old Ella Hill Hutch Community Center, its attorneys Lauren Kramer Sujeeth and Si Eun Amber Lee wrote. The nonprofit would no longer be able to provide families with healthy food or help paying their bills. 'The disproportionate effect of poverty will once again come to Western Addition,' the attorneys argued. 'Put plainly, without Collective Impact, the community will suffer in ways that the city is simply not prepared to handle.' Davis, who was close friends with former Mayor London Breed, resigned last September amid intense scrutiny over her management of the Dream Keeper Initiative, Breed's mission to reinvest $60 million a year in San Francisco's dwindling and underserved Black community. Among the revelations was that Davis shared a home with James Spingola, executive director of Collective Impact. She also previously led the nonprofit. Neither Davis nor Spingola have been charged with crimes. Collective Impact was a major recipient of city funding. The organization has received more than $27 million in city grants since 2021, according to the city attorney's office. Under Davis, the human rights commission awarded Collective Impact more than $6 million between December 2019 and May 2024, the office said. The organization reported revenue of $8.3 million in the fiscal year ending in June 2024, according to its Form 990 filing, shortly before the Dream Keeper scandal broke. The nonprofit had almost $6.3 million in net assets. But the city froze Dream Keeper funding amid budget constraints and intense public scrutiny last September, and the city attorney halted all funding to Collective Impact in March as a result of its joint investigation with the controller. Attorneys for Collective Impact said the organization has since spent roughly $2 million in private funding to 'keep alive previously grant-supported programs, preventing the roughly 125 summer program students from suddenly having nowhere to go.' Attorneys for both Collective Impact and the City Attorney's Office made arguments in legal filings Monday ahead of a hearing next week on the proposed debarment. In its filing, the city attorney argued that some of the payments by Collective Impact constituted bribes and demonstrated 'corrupt intent.' 'Whether Collective Impact's payments benefitting Davis are characterized as illegal gifts, kickbacks, or bribes, Spingola knew that he was living with Davis, never disclosed their relationship and continued to direct City funds for Davis' benefit,' the office wrote. "What are they going to do without us?" he said. Asked about the allegations, Spingola said, 'I haven't bribed anyone.' 'How do you bribe somebody?' he said. 'I don't know what bribing is.' The debarment hearing is scheduled to begin Monday.
