By Lindsay Street, Statehouse correspondent | South Carolina’s black farmers need more support after decades of land loss and loan discrimination, especially as a younger generation is drawn back to the land as part of a food equality and social justice movement, according to farming advocates.
“A lot of black farmers these days are in urban areas and substantially under-resourced,” “Farming While Black” author Leah Penniman said. “People’s farms are constantly at risk.”
Advocates like Penniman say established and would-be black farmers need education on opportunities available to them. A piece of that puzzle will be available March 26 at the inaugural S.C. Black Farmers Conference at S.C. Society Hall in Charleston and at Fresh Future Farm in North Charleston. The conference seeks to bring food-growing experts from across the country to share their best practices with new, budding and established S.C. growers. Penniman will be the keynote speaker at the event.
State Department of Agriculture spokesman Clint Leach said the agency currently helps black farmers through multiple grants to black farms, and through programs like SC Farmlink and the New and Beginner Farmer Program are not specific to black farmers, but can help connect farmers to land and help support farmers,
S.C. Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, a North Charleston Democrat who sits on the House Agriculture Committee, said he plans to introduce legislation that will support an urban agriculture program in the state that will target students and inmates.
“We’ve got to create opportunity. Opportunity today creates prosperity tomorrow but we have to create that opportunity,” Pendarvis said.
Pendarvis said S.C. black farmers are still experiencing fallout from Jim Crow-era discrimination, whether that be from inability to secure loans for farming, land loss or urban migration. He said black farmers today are also burdened by requests for documentation in the loan process.
- For more information about the conference, visit freshfuturefarm.org.
In other recent news:
Santee Cooper surprise. Some state senators expressed surprised at a Wednesday resolution introduced by Senate President Harvey Peeler of Cherokee and supported by Finance Chair Hugh Leatherman of Florence. It would delegate sale of Santee Cooper to the governor’s office. By legislative mandate, only the legislature has the authority to sell the public utility. Then on Thursday, the House countered with a resolution encouraging the sale of the utility — but through the General Assembly. The two resolutions, which sparked strong emotions on all sides, will be weighed in committee next week.
- The Senate Finance Committee will review 678 upon adjournment of the Senate March 27 in room 105 of the Gressette building; and,
- The House Ways and Means Revenue Policy Legislative subcommittee will review 4287 11 a.m. March 26 in room 521 of the Blatt building.
Predating both of those meetings, the Santee Cooper Board of Directors will meet 8 a.m. March 25. Live streaming of the meeting is available here.
Poll offers a few surprises. Winthrop University’s latest poll of S.C. residents shows some things everyone knows about South Carolina, and some things that may be surprising when viewing the state through red-colored glasses. Here are some of the interesting takeaways:
- S.C. Republicans have a strong support of President Trump (80 percent) and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (74 percent);
- Henry McMaster has a 52 percent approval rating and the General Assembly has a 43 percent approval rating among poll respondents;
- Nearly 60 percent of Winthrop Poll respondents said our country is headed in the wrong direction;
- Two-thirds of South Carolina residents said our country’s economy is very good or fairly good;
- Of those surveyed, 80 percent said they would support legislation that would require a completed background check before a person is sold a gun; and,
- More than 70 percent of respondents said a woman should be able to receive an abortion as the result of rape or incest, or if her life is threatened by the pregnancy, but only 40 percent of respondents said a woman should be able to receive an abortion as the result of an unplanned pregnancy.
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Weekly update on Palmetto Priorities
Throughout the legislative session, we’ll provide you relevant updates related to our list of Palmetto Priorities, which are 10 big policy areas where major progress is needed for South Carolina to escape the bottom of lots of lists. Over the last week:
ENVIRONMENT: Ban on plastic bag bans revived. Sens. Scott Tolley, R-Spartanburg, and Wes Climer, R-York, have re-introduced a bill that would freeze future and rescind current municipal bans on single-use plastic and foam containers. A similar bill failed last year. Read more.
HEALTH CARE, PART I: Medical marijuana. A Senate subcommittee advanced the S.C. Compassionate Care Act this week. But as previously reported, the bill could easily die in the House. The Post and Courier also reported this week that powerful lobbyists could help the House kill the bill should it pass the Senate.
HEALTH CARE, PART II: Abortion ban revived. A House panel considered a bill Thursday that would ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The legislation would ban abortions once a heartbeat is detected in the fetus, and it’s known as the “heartbeat” bill. Read more.
TAXES: House panel continues work. A special committee in the House is hoping to soon introduce legislation that will cut the state’s 6 percent sales tax in half to 3 percent, partly by eliminating some sales tax exemptions.
CORRECTIONS: Prison officials talk inmate snafu. After 10 inmates were mistakenly released early from state prisons, officials talked to lawmakers this week about what led to the mistake and steps needed to correct it. One employee pointed to unclear court records. Prison officials say there are fixes in the works, but requested more money to raise salaries to hire better workers. Read more.
Looking ahead
Alliance Party organizing March 23. The party formerly known as the American Party of South Carolina — which has not merged into the new Alliance Party — is holding an organizational meeting 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. March 23 at the Columbia Conference Center. The group says it holds core values of common ground, term limits, campaign finance reform, and “public service-motivated” candidates. More info.
Click below for other items coming up in the Statehouse:
- House calendar
- Senate calendar
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