- Archives

The unhappiness of many black farmers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is spilling over to the presidential-campaign trail. The Democratic nominee, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, was endorsed this week by a number of black farmers groups and leaders. Kerry, in turn, underscored his support for fair treatment of minority farmers. "I am very pleased to have the support of our country's black farmers," Kerry said in a written statement. "I am committed to correcting the civil-rights problems that have languished under this Bush administration and working to help African-American farmers compete and succeed." John W. Boyd Jr. of Mecklenburg County and the group that he heads, the National Black Farmers Association, endorsed Kerry, saying Kerry would support minority farm-aid programs and would remove barriers to payments for thousands of black farmers under an existing class-action settlement. [more]