Eddie and Dorothy Wise are among the last Black family farm owners in the country— where Black farms are now only 1% of all farms. The violent seizure of their farm by 14 armed Federal Marshalls and the continued racism of the Farm Services Agency reflects the need for justice on behalf of Black family farms and small farmers everywhere. We, the undersigned, thus demand:
1. Return Farmer Eddie Wise and Dorothy Wise’s farm to them immediately.
2. Halt all proceedings around the auctioning of their farm scheduled for April 7, 2016.
3. Conduct a FULL independent investigation to uncover how Mr. and Mrs. Wise’s case escalated so rapidly and so unjustly and investigate how Mr. Wise was forcibly removed.
4. Ensure that all measures are taken to protect small farmers so no other farmer will be treated as violently, inhumanely and unjustly as Mr. Wise.
1. Return Farmer Eddie Wise and Dorothy Wise’s farm to them immediately.
2. Halt all proceedings around the auctioning of their farm scheduled for April 7, 2016.
3. Conduct a FULL independent investigation to uncover how Mr. and Mrs. Wise’s case escalated so rapidly and so unjustly and investigate how Mr. Wise was forcibly removed.
4. Ensure that all measures are taken to protect small farmers so no other farmer will be treated as violently, inhumanely and unjustly as Mr. Wise.
Sign now → 
Dear friend,
I just started a petition titled "Return North Carolina Farm Unjustly Seized Back to Black Farmer"
Why is this important?
For the last 40 years American Black farmers have lived a hellish nightmare deliberately orchestrated by the USDA and its local Farmers Home Administration (now the Farm Service Agency) offices to confiscate Black owned land and homes.
The story of this 67-year-old military veteran and farmer Eddie Wise and his wife, Dorothy is the latest example of this violence. On Wednesday, January 20, 2015, around 7:30 a.m., at least 14 Federal Marshals in full military gear with full scale military guns drawn, along with several county sheriff officers, descended on the 106 acre hog farm in Nash County, NC, and forcibly escorted Eddie Wise and his wife, who was still in bed and suffers from a debilitating medical condition, out of their home and off the land that they have owned for more than 20 years. Eddie's Farm is set to be auctioned on April 7th. Sign here to help us stop this. Not only did the Federal Marshals render Eddie and Dorothy immediately homeless and landless, but they did not allow them to take any of their belongings except the clothes on their backs. Mr. Wise is in fear of his life and the life of his wife. “I believe if I had shown one ounce of resistance, the Federal Marshals would have killed me. I actually believe that’s what they came to do…” said Mr. Wise, his eyes moist with tears. Saving their land has been a long and exhaustive process for the Wise family. It took the Wises five years to secure the loans they needed to buy their farm—and with a $60,000 increase over the course of only a month that has lead to an escalated foreclosure process, we know the unjust seizure of his farm is targeted and intentional. Eddie Wise is an advocate for Black Farmers and now is the time that we take a stand for him. Tell Tom Vilsack: Black Farmers and their possessions matter! Thank you, Gary Grant
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