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The HIStory of Guillory Farms — Legacy, Loss, and Resistance 🧵

1/ Today in Orange, TX, we heard a story that too many don’t know—but too many have lived.

The story of Guillory Farms.

A Black farming family.
A generational legacy.
A fight to hold on.

2/ The Guillory brothers were 3rd-generation farmers working rice, soybeans, and other crops in Southeast Texas.

Farming wasn’t just their job.
It was their inheritance. Their independence. Their future.

3/ But like many Black farmers, they faced barriers that had nothing to do with hard work.

Through the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), they experienced:
– Delayed loans
– Reduced funding
– Denials when they needed support most

4/ Even when help came—from leaders like Jack Brooks—it came too late.

Their operation could not recover.

Let that sit.

5/ Then came the foreclosure notices.

After the 1988 election, thousands of farmers across Texas and the U.S. received notices at the same time.

The Guillory family believed the timing wasn’t random.

6/ Over 6,500 Texas farmers were impacted.

That’s not just policy.
That’s communities. Families. Generations.

That’s power.

7/ Still, they said:

“We’re not getting out of farming.”

Even after crop loss.
Even after debt.
Even after being denied the support they deserved.

8/ They kept fighting:
– Seeking mediation
– Appealing decisions
– Trying to restructure debt
– Turning to local banks when federal systems failed them

9/ The Guillory Farms story is part of a bigger truth:

Black farmers have lost millions of acres of land over generations—not by choice, but through systemic barriers.

And yet… they stayed. They fought. They endured.

10/ This is about more than farming.

It’s about land.
It’s about legacy.
It’s about justice.

And it’s about making sure these stories are told—and never erased.

We Got Us. 🖤

CommunityPower OrangeTX GuilloryFarms

We Got Us. ❤️✊🏾

Today we worshipped at El Bethel Baptist Church in Orange, TX with Pastor Rickey Guillory —standing with a community that refuses to be broken.

After a devastating fire, this church is still standing in spirit, in faith, and in people. That’s what resilience looks like. That’s what power looks like.

Black Voters Matter - Texas was honored to partner for a “Love Day”—not just to show up, but to stand in solidarity, to listen, to uplift, and to remind folks:
you are not alone in this.

From prayer to fellowship to real conversations about community and healing… today was about more than recovery. It was about restoration. It was about us.

Grateful for every hand that helped, every voice that lifted, and every heart that continues to believe.

Even after the fire… we rise. 🔥➡️✨

FaithAndPower RebuildRestoreRise ElBethelBaptistChurch GuilloryFarms

Grateful for my sista-friend Tequila M Johnson —my Harvard sister, my reminder of what it means to walk boldly in purpose. 💫

From classrooms to real life, you’ve always embodied truth and courage. You live it, not just say it: “Power is not given to you. You have to take it.”

Thank you for being a reflection of strength, brilliance, and unapologetic Black excellence. Love you always. ✊🏾💛

Sunday Funday but make it money moves 💸😉
Kicked it at the Federal Reserve Bank’s Museum of American Finance… because we outside and getting smarter 😌✨

Baecation energy still in full effect 💋

A lil weekend baecation never hurt nobody. 💋 Living good, loving better at Live! by Loews – Arlington, Texas.