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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
Global Village
Agriculture secretary vows improvements in fair advertising dollars
By Hazel Trice Edney
WASHINGTON (NNPA) –
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has promised Black newspaper publishers that the department, with its long history of documented race discrimination, will do better at civil rights and the fair dis- semination of advertising dol- lars in coming months and years.
Speaking to publishers of
the National Newspaper Pub- lishers Association during Black Press Week in mid- March, Vilsack reflected on what he described as “the unfortunate history that this department has had in civil rights” which has now prompt- ed “the most comprehensive commitment to civil rights that … the USDA has needed for a substantial amount of time.”
He said among the first
things he did upon appoint- ment by President Barack Obama was to visit with a number of former secretaries of agriculture.
“One of the things that the
secretaries would comment on was the poor record of civil rights,” he said. “Agriculture took three significant steps in order to try to close that chap- ter.”
Vilsack outlined the steps:
• To work aggressively to close the class action suit filed by Black farmers because of gross race discrimination. “We’re close on the Black Farmer case,” Vilsack said. “We need Congress to appropriate $1.15 billion that will then be dis- tributed to thousands of farm- ers who were not treated fairly by USDA years ago.”
• The second thing is to “do a better job internally in terms of promotions and hiring in order to make sure we are reflective of the diversity in America and specifically the diversity we find in rural America,” Vilsack said. He asked the publishers to help by getting the word out about internships that are available for college students who might be interested in long-term jobs at the USDA.
• The third and final thing was to “order an external review of all the programs that have previously been a part of the problem in creating these dis- crimination claims.’’ He said a specialized firm “is in the pro- cess of reviewing all the activi- ties in 14 states where most of the problems and issues oc- curred” and it will bring back recommendations in a year or so “to make sure these pro- grams are not continuing to create claims of discrimina- tion.”
He promised an in-depth
review: ’’Is it a training issue? Is it a personnel issue? Is it a program issue? Is it a lack of understanding about the ap- plication process issue? Or what precisely is it?”
Vilsack fielded strong ques-
tions from the audience from publishers who were not only concerned about how Black people will learn about the many economic and nutrition programs of the Department of Agriculture, but also con- cerned about the Black Press being overlooked as a means to that end.
NNPA Chairman Danny
Bakewell told the secretary that spending advertising dol- lars with Black newspapers could get the word to the audi- ence he intends to reach. “We talk to 20 million Black people every week. We believe that we represent a significant market place and we want to make sure that we participate in the budgets and in the resources that are available,” Bakewell said.
Vilsack said although Ag-
riculture works every day to fund small and Black busi- nesses development, he was unaware of how much money is spent by the Department with Black newspapers: “Your issue is not one that I have focused on and I wouldn’t be able to tell you today how well or how poorly we’re doing. But I appreciate you bringing it up and we really need to think about the reallocation of our resources to make sure it’s fairly distributed,” he told a staff member.
Continuing to nail the
issue, Richmond Free Press Editor/Publisher Ray Boone told Vilsack, “The greatest indicator of commitment is
money all of this time and we will still have the same prob- lems.”
Vilsack sought to assure
the publishers that he is seri- ous about his respect for the Black Press: “Within rural America and in USDA, we get a much bigger bang for our buck, not with the Newsweeks and the Times and the other major publications. We get it with the regional and local publications. My view is that people read those local publi- cations.”
Civil rights groups on
historic health care vote
Tom Vilsack
how you spend your money. I can look at your check book and tell whether you are seri- ous,” Quoting civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer and Black farmers leader John Boyd, he asked, “Where are your values?”
Vilsack said he would not
pretend to know where every dollar has gone from the De- partment, but he said he has established a new Office of Outreach and Advocacy to make sure resources, includ- ing dollars and information, are getting to communities that need it most.
This writer asked Vilsack
when First Lady Michelle Obama would speak directly to Black newspapers with her new “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood obesity. A White House press briefing with the first lady and about a dozen publications early this year omitted Black newspa- pers.
Vilsack explained, “The first
lady is introducing the obesity program to the country as a whole first. And then there will be targeted efforts over the next 12 to 24 months focused on specific communities. I can promise you that we can take this message back to the ‘Let’s Move’ initiative and make sure the first lady understands the need to reach out – not just to the Black community and the Black press, but in Spanish- speaking publications as well.
“This is a serious issue
with minority kids. And so, there needs to be a targeted strategy. We will convey that message. I’m sure they’re aware of it.
I’m sure they’ve got some
thoughts about this … We will convey this message today.”
NNPA Foundation Chair
Dorothy Leavell stressed that NNPA is not looking for one- time hit-or-miss strategies, but a long-term commitment.
“What I want is a real part-
nership with the Department of Agriculture,” Leavell told Vilsack. “Sometimes in the grand scope of things, we think we’re reaching every- body when we’re on TV. We think we’re reaching every- body when we’re on the radio. We think we’re reaching all of these people, but our people need to know that you’re talk- ing to us. You’re not talking to us when you’re on TV.
“You’re talking to us when
you’re in our publications…If we don’t get to the people that you are trying to reach, then we will have spent all of this
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HOW TO
By Pharoh Martin
(NNPA) — It’s been a con-
tentious year, but now that supporters of health care reform finally got their day, Black political and civil rights leaders, as well as other health care reform advocates are ap- plauding the bill¦s passage for a variety of reasons.
Civil rights leaders have
been some of the most vocal backers of the bill because African Americans are among the most disparately impacted by lack of insurance, chronic diseases and other health-re- lated setbacks.
“Like Social Security, Medi-
care, Medicaid and civil rights laws in the past, today’s vote will forever be a threshold moment for the nation,¨ said Marc Morial, president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League on the day of the presidential sign- ing March 23. “Generations to come will look back to this day as one where the Ameri- can dream was more fully real- ized.’’
In the days leading up to
the final House vote, congres- sional members were verbally attacked by opponents of the bill. Civil Rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D- Ga.) was one of the individuals at the receiving end of a protester’s racial slur. Of course, Lewis, a veteran of the civil rights struggle, still voted in favor of the bill.
“The last 24 hours have
witnessed a chaos and disor- der that reared its ugly head in nasty language and hostile at- tacks,” Morial said in a state- ment. “Despite attacks upon civil rights icons in Congress, justice and truth continue to ‘march on.’’’
Some key provisions pushed
by Black leaders and the Con- gressional Black Caucus such as the public option failed to make the final bill, but other measures were included to bring additional medical in- surance-related protections for citizens, bring down costs and lower the number of unin- sured Americans.
The U.S. Census Bureau
reports that more than 15 per- cent of all Americans are un- insured. According to a Febru- ary Gallop Poll, about one out of five African Americans are without medical coverage.
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April 7-13, 2010 Page A-2
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