Atlanta has a significant presence in the national debate over the future of Black-owned farms and properties, as well as the Federal Reserve’s role in discussing racism in the economy, which is being challenged by the Senate Banking Committee.
Participants include U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-Atlanta), chair of the House Agriculture Committee; Georgia ACT President Bambie Hayes-Brown; and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic.
Their voices in this era’s discussion of civil and human rights continue the region’s leadership role in vetting complex topics. Two recent examples that reached the national arena include the City of Atlanta’s precedent-setting domestic partner registry in 1993, and the state’s new elections law, Senate Bill 202, now the subject of a federal lawsuit filed against Georgia by the Justice Department.
Scott has argued in support of a $5 billion federal loan forgiveness program for an estimated 17,000 Black, Indigenous American, Hispanic Asian American or Pacific Island farmers and ranchers. The program is included in the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, sections 1005 and 1006, and is challenged in federal lawsuits.
