We hope so. Because their cause just got a major bi-partisan, bi-cameral boost.

To say the very least, it's long overdue.

Though largely unnoticed by the media (here's an exception), legislation was introduced last week in both the House and the Senate to reopen the landmark Pigford discrimination settlement involving tens of thousands of black farmers and USDA.

The need to reopen the settlement was documented in a headline-making 2003 report by EWG's then general counsel, Arianne Callender, and published in collaboration with our friends at the National Black Farmers Association, led by the unstoppable John Boyd.

As EWG and NBFA took our report around the Hill, making the case for a fresh look at a settlement that had unfairly excluded tens of thousands of black farmers through no fault of their own, we found strong interest in the House from the Congressional Black Caucus and from Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio. Last week Chabot teamed up with Democrat Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, a tireless, resourceful champion of black farmers, to introduce the House bill.

The man who listened and responded immediately in the Senate when we first presented the study's disturbing findings was Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa.

Sen. Grassley was joined last week by presidential aspirant Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL as the original co-sponsor of the companion bill in the Senate.

The measures will be referred to the Judiciary Committees in the respective chambers.

We're optimistic that this bill can make progress. Why? Beyond the strong bi-partisan support, there's this from the Senate Judiciary Committee's Chairman...

And on the House side we have in Sen. Kennedy's counterpart as chairman a congressman who has fought long and hard to gain justice for black farmers--Rep. John Conyers of Michigan.

So we think this bill will move. No one deserves more credit then John Boyd.