Related Topics:
NBFA Reports and USDA Dealings
Yet another year has come and gone and the USDA Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is no better off today
than it was in1994. The USDA Coalition of Minority Employees (The Coalition) was officially recognized
in 1994 and began its mission to eradicate discrimination USDA wide and improve the Department's
longstanding dysfunctional civil rights administrative practices and processes. Many would agree that it is
worse now than it was during the Ronald Reagan Administration, when the OCR Program Division was
completely shut down, employee cases processed at a snails pace and staff routinely decided which cases to
accept or reject. This was kept hidden from the Congress and the American people. full report »
Issues for the Coalition to Address with Honorable McKay
April 6, 2007
It is our collective belief that the USDA Office of Civil Rights (CR) could and should be the
federal “flagship” program in the metropolitan area for civil rights, and the model for other
federal agencies to emulate. This is especially true in light of the fact that the USDA Graduate
School is highly recognized and respected for its excellence in education. However, due to a
long history of mismanagement, this is not the case. full report »
NBFA President John W. Boyd, USDA Secretary
October 7, 2005
The meeting at USDA headquarters in Washington, DC covered numerous pressing topics such as civil rights challenges and the ongoing efforts to resolve thousands of cases, international trade with a focus on South America and Africa, the current push for passage of CAFTA, U.S. agricultural subsidies, USDA's support for NBFA's annual National Conference, USDA procurement, local USDA program activities, and National Black Farmers Outreach Legislation. Others present at the meeting included USDA Under Secretary J.B. Penn; Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Vernon Parker; General Counsel, Michael Kelly; and Deputy Chief of Staff, Drew Deberry. full report »