Black farmers rally, demand justice

WASHINGTON -- Faced with a demonstration by 60 black farmers -- plus goats, a mule and two tractors -- the Agriculture Department said Thursday it is willing to pay blacks who were wrongly denied loans because of their race.

The department said, however, that it won't set a deadline for issuing those checks.

The farmers and their supporters brought in the goats and other props for the demonstration in front of the agency's headquarters Thursday. They demanded the agency settle claims they say should have been resolved immediately after a settlement was reached in 1999.

Assistant Agriculture Secretary Lou Gallegos said not all cases qualify and that the claims are being reviewed by the Justice Department and a private contractor.

The department had agreed to pay $50,000 to each of the farmers who were denied loans because of their race to settle a class-action lawsuit filed in 1997.

But few farmers have received payments, and some farmers have been forced into foreclosure while waiting for their claims, said John Boyd, head of the association.

"These are people who deserve to be treated just like everybody else," Boyd said.

He said he wants the government to halt foreclosures until the issue is resolved.