When a class-action lawsuit against the US government results in a
billion dollar settlement for the aggrieved parties, you'd expect the
story to be headline news . . .to be posted on social media everywhere .
. . to be adapted to film or even to a popular legal procedural series
on TV . . .
So why then have so many people never heard of Pigford vs. Glickman?
Or the follow-up lawsuit, Pigford II?
Or the Black Farmers Case, as the pair of these legal actions is often
called?
Could it be that the heart-wrenching story of Black farmers in America,
and the monumental legal case that brought long-sought justice to them,
is rarely told because it reflects so poorly on the US and its treatment
of those whose ancestors helped make the nation an agricultural giant in
the first place?
Whatever the reason, the time to tell the full story has come and the
person to share the gripping details is Greg Francis, one of the lead
counsels in the historic case that finally helped Black farmers achieve
equity. In Just Harvest, Francis narrates the dramatic twists and turns
of the legal battle fought and won, and evidences the many years of
ingrained discrimination and racism that preceded it. Awareness of this
story makes us all witnesses to the history still unfolding-- and while
parts of what is recounted herein will enrage you, the hope is that this
book will also inspire, inform, and motivate you to join the continuing
fight for the rights of all Black farmers now and in the future.
