Mecklenburg Sun

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine is making a six-day swing through Virginia’s U.S. 58 corridor this week and stopped Tuesday for an event in the Boydton-Palmer Springs area to discuss relief for farmers of color provided by the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan. Through the plan, $5 billion in debt relief and assistance is being offered to farmers of color who have faced long-held discriminatory practices and who experienced negative impacts to their businesses due to COVID-19. African-American farmers and business owners present for the stopover were well prepared with questions and concerns for Kaine, who helped pass the ARP with a majority of Democrats in Congress. Issues raised during Kaine’s stopover ranged from still-present discriminatory practices, to adequate communication from federal, state, and local offices to minority business owners, to minority producers not being able to receive Pell Grants for some careers related directly to farming, modernizing farming equipment, and a host of other concerns. Kaine acknowledged there were still roadblocks to farmers of color and business owners of color receiving a fair shake. But he said with continued conversations such as the one that took place Tuesday in the Boydton area, change can happen.

Kaprisha Hargrove, COO and director of Save Our Future, a mental and behavioral health center in Chase City.

The existing and proposed route for the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor through Virginia and northern North Carolina, continuing onto Raleigh and Charlotte and extending all the way to Florida.