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Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Complain to USDA, says head of Black farmers' group after more members voice concerns
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — More members of an advocacy group for Black farmers have turned to WREG saying they're fed up with the very organization that's supposed to be fighting on their behalf. 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 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.
USA Today
05-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Black farmers group confident in appeal of ruling over USDA payouts for heirs
Hear this story Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association President Thomas Burrell said he is confident the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals will rule in the organization's favor in its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Burrell gave an update on the case during a press conference Wednesday in Memphis. "The mere fact that we [were] going to be able to go to Cincinnati and make oral arguments speaks volumes about the validity of our claim," said Burrell, who noted oral arguments concluded Jan. 30. "Congress intended for these heirs to be paid. We argued that USDA made the switch and that DFAP [Discrimination Financial Assistance Program] is unconstitutional... because of the defects in it, because of the fact that it denied individuals a fundamental promise... to be able to inherit real and personal property." During summer 2024, the Department of Agriculture began issuing payouts of $50,000 to Black farmers who were discriminated against by the federal department. The compensation ordered by the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act, of which DFAP was a part. The payments, which totaled $2.2 billion, did not include the heirs of Black farmers who were discriminated against prior to 2021 — Burrell said heirs were even denied the ability to apply. The Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association sued, and though it lost in a Western District of Tennessee court, the case is currently in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati. A ruling in the case should be released within one to two months. Founded in 1997, the Memphis-based the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association has more than 20,000 members, many of whom were denied a share of the $2.2 billion compensation. One of those members, Nimon Willis traveled to Cincinnati to hear the association's argument to the court. Willis' late parents and two grandparents were sharecroppers, and he said receiving that compensation would mean a lot to him. "It would mean a great deal to me," he said. "We know they don't want us to have anything, but, hey, you got to fight for what you want. Nothing comes free." LOCAL NEWS:West Tennessee group continues push for Ford to sign community benefits agreement Burrell also said his organization was working with Tennessee Sen. Brent Taylor to bring the case to President Donald Trump's attention, to get him to intervene and settle the case. Despite Trump's proposed sweeping budget cuts and changes, Burrell said he doesn't believe those cuts will factor into this case. "We don't believe that the administration's cut to the government falls within the same category of protecting a person's constitutional rights," he said. "This is a slippery slope here what USDA is doing, and that is if you start denying this group a right to inherit property, when are you going to start denying people who own farms, who died years ago and set up trust and wills and estates for their children?" Jacob Wilt is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal covering DeSoto County, as well as dining in the Memphis area. You can reach him
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Members Demand Answers from Black Farmers Advocacy Group
On January 30th, attorneys representing an advocacy organization for black farmers are scheduled to go before an appeals court to argue their case about expanding payments to more farmers, previously excluded from a recent government assistance program. Meanwhile, a months-long WREG investigation reveals complaints from several of the organization's members who say the group claiming to help them is in fact hurting them. Consider it a calling Stephanie Smith hadn't planned to answer. As a young woman, Smith says she didn't see herself living on a farm, let alone helping to tend to cows. 'Now, I couldn't imagine myself anywhere else. This home, this is us,' said Smith as she leaned on a fence that separates their home from the rest of the land on their sprawling property. Smith's husband is a fourth-generation farmer in West Tennessee. 'It's so important that we keep all of this in the family,' said Smith. But carrying on that legacy, including caring for cattle on 50-plus acres isn't easy or cheap. Smith explained to WREG, 'You have to buy food, you have to make sure that they're warm, you have to make sure that they are healthy.' So after being denied government loans in the past, the Smiths decided to apply for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Discrimination Financial Assistance would issue payments to farmers and ranchers to help grow or start operations. MSCS could file lawsuit if state takes over the school board Smith said, 'We were thinking, this is going to be just what we need.' Smith says her family met with a group led by a local pastor and his wife to learn more about the program. 'They talked a lot about racism over the years and how hard it was for people to even complete the application process,' Smith told the NewsChannel 3 Investigators. She says they were also encouraged to become a part of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association. The national organization headquartered in Memphis has been around for nearly 30 years and boasts about its history of helping black farmers. 'In order for them to be able to assist us, we needed to join their organization. So there was a $100 fee,' said Smith. Smith continued, 'They did stress to us, we're not charging you to complete the 40 pages, but you do have to give us a donation.' Which according to Smith was $40. However, Smith explained it seemed like a small price to pay for the assistance of people who understood the paperwork. Smith walked us through how it was presented to them, 'We know what they're looking for. We understand the language and we're going to take care of that entire process for you.' So Smith added, 'We felt like we were going to be in good hands.' The DFAP application deadline was extended from October of 2023 to January 17, said months passed, and they never heard anything, except a request for an additional donation from the couple they'd handed over payments to and lots of personal information to file on their behalf. And because farming is a family affair, Smith's sister-in-law Mildred and her husband who help with the cattle and farm row crops also joined in, along with other relatives. 'So at this point, they've gotten a total of $260, you know, per person,' explained Smith. Then in August of 2024, Stephanie Smith's husband received a letter from the USDA. She read it aloud to WREG as we sat in her kitchen on a late summer afternoon. 'This letter is to inform you that your application has not been found eligible for financial assistance under the parameters of the program.' The reason cited in the letter read, 'The application was submitted after the deadline.' Smith explained their confusion after receiving the letter, 'We came to you and we gave our money to you all the way back in October, long before any deadline!' Her sister-in-law Mildred Smith said, 'You guys…took our money and we need to know what's going on!' Smith's denial letter is dated August 1st.A day earlier, the USDA announced it issued more than $2 billion in payments to more than 40,000 applicants for its Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. Residents concerned after Main Event opens hours after shooting Smith said when she called the couple that helped them she was told, 'Oh don't worry about that, that letter is a scam!' However, the Smith's denial letter was no scam. In fact, around the same time, the USDA was warning about scams on its website. A spokesperson told the WREG Investigators 'We are aware of scams misleading people to believe the program will reopen, which is not true, and that some organizations have collected fees from potential applicants under false pretenses.' After getting the runaround, including claims of a system crash, Smith says from the people who agreed to help file the application, she called the USDA directly and said a representative told her exactly when the application was submitted. 'That's so unfortunate because we received your application June 11th, 2024,' said Smith of what she learned after reaching out to the DFAP hotline included on their denial letter. That date was five months after the deadline. WREG asked Smith, 'How did you feel when you heard all of that from DFAP?' She replied, 'We were hurt, there's no other word. We were hurt.' The USDA sent NewsChannel 3 a list of organizations it contracted with that held free meetings across the country to educate people about its Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. The Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association wasn't one of them. We tried to speak with James Williams, who Smith says signed them up for BFAA, taking their membership dues and that donation. Mr. Williams answered the door and after introducing ourselves, The WREG Investigators explained we were working on a story about DFAP and we had received some complaints from people who said that their applications were not submitted. Williams replied, 'I decline to comment on this time. We'll get back with you later.' We never heard back from Mr. Williams, but asked BFAA's President and Founder Thomas Burrell if he was familiar with Williams, his wife or the complaints surrounding his organization. The NewsChannel 3 Investigators asked Burrell, 'Did you all ask people or require them to pay to join and then sign up before engaging in conversation about DFAP or anything else that you all were working on at the time?' He replied, 'There is an emphatic answer to that one Zaneta, and it's no!' We continued, 'Okay because these folks, they, several of them submitted to Pastor James and Marcia Williams…who said they were working for the organization.' Burrell continued, 'Trust me, no one in this office, the individuals that you just name does not work (here). They're not affiliated with this office.' Formerly incarcerated struggle to find housing, making re-entry harder In fact, Burrell says his organization encouraged their members not to apply for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. They sued the head of the USDA in federal court, on the basis that DFAP should allow applications submitted on behalf of estates, or heirs of farmers who have since passed away. 'As long as USDA is discriminating against black farmers, why shouldn't there be a means to compensate these individuals?,' was the question Burrell posed about DFAP in explaining why they sued. The WREG Investigators also asked Burrell if he filled out an application himself. 'No. I didn't think it would have been right for me to fill out that application and get paid and at the same time advocating that there's something wrong and suing USDA,' said Burrell. BFAA's case is headed to a federal appeals court. Oral arguments are scheduled for Thursday, January 30th. 'If we prevail in this lawsuit, those very individuals, except the ones who swung at the foul ball, will be a part of this,' Burrell told WREG. Meanwhile, Smith told WREG that as of fall 2024, 'They are still taking applications, they are still getting money from families and so for us, it, you know, became we have to stop them.' Smith says they haven't been able to get a copy of her husband's application from DFAP, but the denial letter shows it was submitted in his late father's name. 'This is submitted like he's alive, a living person,' said Smith who told WREG that was a big concern. Smith filed a complaint against the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association with the USDA's Office of Inspector General and the Tennessee Attorney General, where the WREG Investigators found several others. Smith told the WREG Investigators, 'The government can't be at a point where they acknowledge the wrongdoing that they did to us and then just stand by and watch another organization continue to do us wrong.' Despite the disappointment of everything that's happened, Smith says her family will forge on, turning to their own family's history of resilience to move forward. 'You know, we've done it for so many years without assistance, looking back. They made a way and we're going to continue to make a way,' said Smith. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
