For Black farmers, new promises come with old scars
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RILEY BUNCH, The Moultrie Observer
May 14, 2021
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1of12Howard James, owner of Jibbs Vineyard in Byromville, Ga., introduces U.S. Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock to the crowd of Black farmers gathered at his farm on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. (Riley Bunch/The Daily Times via AP)Riley Bunch/APShow MoreShow Less
2of12Dozens of Black farmers gather in Byromville, Ga., on Tuesday, May 4, 2021, to hear U.S. Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock detail the federal COVID-19 relief coming to them and voice concerns of the history of discrimination against them at the hands of the United States Department of Agriculture. (Riley Bunch/The Daily Times via AP)Riley Bunch/APShow MoreShow Less
OMAHA (DTN) The board of directors for Kansas City Southern railroad on Thursday switched tracks and chose to accept the purchase offer from Canadian National Railway, concluding that company’s bid is superior to that of Canadian Pacific Railway.
Canadian National’s (CN) bid for Kansas City Southern (KCS) tops $33.6 billion compared to the Canadian Pacific (CP) merger plan of $29 billion offered in March. The board for KCS determined CN’s revised proposal amounts to a “company superior proposal” as defined in the KCS merger agreement with CP.
The announcement also comes after Canadian National executives spent two days in Kansas City, Missouri, meeting with KCS executives and local business and political leaders, according to the Kansas City Star.
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The Progress-Index
PETERSBURG Jewel Bronaugh, a Petersburg native, is now the first Black woman to be appointed as the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, as confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The former Dean of the College of Agriculture at Virginia State University was nominated by President Joe Biden back in January. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday. Dr. Bronaugh has done exceptional work for the Commonwealth and we have no doubt that she will continue to do so at the federal level, said Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, in a joint statement.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture will be Bronaugh s biggest role yet. Bronaugh previously served as the 16th commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Prior to commissioning, Bronaugh also served as the Virginia Department State Executive Director for the United States Department of Agriculture s Farm Service Agency.
BYROMVILLE, Ga. â When Sylvester Bembry inherited the family farm in Hawkinsville from his parents, he inherited the debt that came with it. Debt that he doesnât want to pass on to the next generation.
âAll we can do is pray about it, he said. âAnd hopefully it will work out.â
For decades, Black farmers have struggled to overcome financial hardships while the federal agency tasked with aiding them is riddled with discriminatory practices. With a history of racially biased lending programs under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 17,000 Black farmers indebted to the agency have been driven into foreclosure.