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"In the 1890's Kansas populist Mary Elizabeth Lease told farmers to 'stop raising corn and start raising hell.' In the 1990s John Boyd did just that. The Mecklenburg County, Virginia, activist founded the National Black Farmers Association in 1995 and, as its president, charged that the US Department of Agriculture had systematically denied loans and aid to black farmer" (John Nichol, The Nation, March 13, 2000). "Having beaten the Feds, Boyd now wants to join them. The 34-year-old tobacco farmer will challenge conservative Congressman Virgil Goode Jr., an ex-Democrat who caucuses with the House GOP and seeks re-election as an independent. With encouragement from Representatives John Conyers and Maxine Waters, Boyd promises to run a progressive populist campaign that will unite hard-hit black and white frmers with laid-off textile workers and Charlottesville liberals" (John Nichol, The Nation, March 13, 2000). "It's an uphill race, but, says Boyd, 'My message is that if
we could beat Washington on behalf of black farmers, there isn't anything
we can't change'" (John Nichol, The Nation, March 13, 2000).
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