WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2015 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today released the following statement on the passing of Amelia Boynton Robinson, a key civil rights leader and former employee of the Department of Agriculture, where she worked to ensure that rural African Americans across the South had access to resources and information about food production and processing, nutrition and healthcare:
"Amelia's quiet leadership taught America that inclusion and understanding have the power to lift up individuals and communities and help them heal. She stood for equality and opportunity for all at a time when those things were closed to too many. Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to make the walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge—a visual reminder of the legacy of Amelia and thousands more like her who championed civil rights for all. We should honor Amelia by continuing to fight so that no American remains shadowed and shackled by prejudice, injustice and poverty. My thoughts and prayers are with Amelia's family, friends and everyone who loved her."
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