TS Radio Network: The USDA Hour & Kordel Davis & Waymon Henson

Our guest this evening is Kordel Davis and Waymon Henson

Kordel is originally from Reading, Pennsylvania. He is currently a student at Rutgers University. In 2018 producers from Dateline NBC connected Kordel with the USDA and Coalition of Minority Employees. In May of 2018 Kordel wrote the paper “USDA Discrimination and the Effects on Food Systems and Food Security” under Dr. Xenia Morin at Rutgers University.

Kordel was one of the over seventy farmers, advocates, and researchers to sign their name to the letter to Elizabeth Warren. He has since created a video posted to YouTube regarding the letter entitled “USDA Discrimination, Elizabeth Warren, and The Future,” which has caught the attention of documentary creators and helped to spur new national interest in the Black farmers movement. Kordel wishes to continue to be a powerful voice for displaced farmers in the future.

Waymon Henson is a Black farmer documentary, researcher & publisher. He has earned degrees in theology and psychology is licensed as a psychologist and marriage and family therapist in Texas. His history with the Black farmer cause extends back to 1994 when he began to consult with farmers and their legal counsel. He has been affiliated with the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association in Tillery, NC since 2005 and currently is a board member. He has two published articles in the area of Black farmers and land loss and has presented at international, national, state, and regional conferences on racism, the USDA, and Black land loss. His special area of interest is the impact on the health and well being of farmers and families when dealing with the USDA and DOJ. He and Shoun Hill partnered on the Black farmer documentary beginning in 2018 and will complete it in late 2019.