I am responding to the March 3 letter to the editor “Bias against white farmers continues.” The letter asserted “discrimination and systemic racism against white farmers” related to a $1.9 trillion bill that includes “provisions to forgive all USDA direct and guaranteed loans to all non-white farmers. ...”
The referenced bill does not include the term “non-white,” but instead references “socially disadvantaged” groups as defined by the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 – a farmer or rancher who is a member of a group whose members have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice because of his or her identity as a member of the group.
I understand how one might view this as a bill favoring “non-whites,” since only “non-white” farmers have historically and systematically been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice. But, that same reasoning means that one must also acknowledge that white farmers, who in 2017 made up 95% of all farmers, have not historically been subjected to prejudice based on their skin color that this bill is trying to correct.
It is indisputable that “non-white” people have been victims of numerous policies and actions throughout the history of this country. These policies include “red lining,” which made it difficult for non-white people to obtain loans and own property compared to their white counterparts. This is “systemic racism.” For something to be systemic, it has to be prevalent throughout the system over time. There is no evidence of historical prejudice in policies over decades against the success of white people or white farmers, as the March 3 letter claims.
The loan forgiveness to socially disadvantaged farmers in this new bill is to correct decades of injustices to “non-white” farmers. If we want to move forward and make things right, we first have to address the historical failures of this country.
I was disheartened to read the final divisive call to “…all white farmers and whites in general to get organized and start fighting back against the Biden administration and the well-organized Black groups pushing this racist agenda” in the March 3 letter. I would instead like to make a call to all people to work together to ensure an equitable and livable world for all people, regardless of skin color.
Casandra Rauser, Culver City, Calif., formerly of Caledonia, N.D.
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March 13, 2021 at 10:00PM
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Letter: To move forward, correct past mistakes - Grand Forks Herald
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