President-elect Joe Biden’s decision
to bring Tom Vilsack back to lead the Agriculture Department has enraged many farmers of color who say his record on civil rights should have disqualified him from the job.
The criticism comes as Biden is under intense pressure to name a historically diverse Cabinet and expectations had been particularly high for USDA, which has been almost exclusively led by white men and systematically discriminated against farmers of color and women, giving them far less access to crucial federal programs since its inception in 1862.
“Vilsack is not good for the agriculture industry, period,” said Michael Stovall, founder of Independent Black Farmers, a coalition of Black growers and producers from key Southern states working to raise awareness on issues faced by Black farmers. “When it comes to civil rights, the rights of people, he s not for that. It s very disappointing they even want to consider him coming back after what he has done to limited r