RFK Jr. says he'd give black farmers $5 billion in reparations, despite ruling it's unconstitutional

Politics

For Diana Glebova

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. he has said he will support giving black farmers $5 billion in reparations once he takes office, with his weight. behind a provision of President Biden's American Rescue Plan that was struck down by a court as unconstitutional.

“When I'm in the White House … I'm going to get rid of those USDA people and I'm going to get that money,” Kennedy told John Boyd Jr., the founder of the National Negro Farmers Association, in a recent episode of his podcast.

“This $5 billion is not money, this is a right,” the 70-year-old added. “It's money that was a loan that black farmers were entitled to at the time and they stole it because of discrimination.”

Biden's American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 proposed a roughly $5 billion loan assistance program for “socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers,” defined as those who “have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice ” – who were financially harmed during the COVID-19 pandemic. .

Delivery was quick challenged by white farmers in Texas, the Midwest and Florida, and was ultimately halted after Jacksonville federal judge Marcia Morales Howard issued a preliminary injunction, saying the bill “seems to create an inflexible, discriminatory program based on the race”.

One of the parties involved in the lawsuit at the time, America First Legal, said Monday Kennedy supported the $5 billion package.

“Any public servant who thinks it is the government's role to pick winners and losers based on the color of their skin does not belong in public office,” AFL chief executive and general counsel Gene Hamilton said. in The Post.

“This is the 21st century and we have to stop living like the 19th century before the Civil War.”

Black farmers, including Boyd, continue to argue that they have historically been discriminated against and should receive redress, even compensation. only 1.4% of farmers in the country

Kennedy's support for the $5 billion program is in line with his other campaign promises to deal with reparations.

Seve the campaign website currently reads he will “end the USDA's discrimination against blacks [sic] farmers and protect current owners from land loss,” among other provisions aimed at the black community, such as moving to “cancel student debt” and granting “low-interest microloans to invest in approved business plans with flexible repayment terms”.

Kennedy has changed his views on repairs during the campaign, updating his website to reflect his positions after The Post reported in October about his initial pledge to use “federal dollars” to “rebuild infrastructure black”.

“During Jim Crow, Black [sic] banks, businesses, hospitals, schools and farms were targeted for destruction. The racists knew that without these, the blacks [sic] the community had no chance of building wealth. We must set aside federal dollars to rebuild black [sic] infrastructure,” his campaign website initially read.

Days change, Kennedy's campaign quietly altered its website to extend its policies to “devastated communities across the country.”

“Targeted community reparation will be available to devastated communities across the country,” the new language said, “not just black.” [sic]”.