BIOGRAPHY:

 LAWRENCE C. LUCAS

PRESIDENT, COALITION OF MINORITY EMPLOYEES

Lawrence C. Lucas, President and founding member of the USDA Department of Agriculture's Coalition of Minority Employees ("The Coalition"), has served as their first elected President from 1994 to present. Under President Lucas' strong leadership "The Coalition" has gained national recognition and credibility as one of the few premier multi-racial and multi-cultural civil rights organizations in the Federal Government. Mr. Lucas has revitalized and energized this organization. Under his leadership, this once Washington DC-based organization has grown to 38 Chapters nationwide.

Mr. Lucas' candid presentations and provocative style of getting results have attracted national attention. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, and featured in many newspaper and magazine articles, both locally and nationally. He also has been an invited guest speaker on many occasions and served on numerous panels and symposiums on civil rights. One of the most memorable television appearances was being a featured guest along with John Boyd Jr., President of the National Black Farmers Association, Congresswomen and former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Maxine Waters, Congressman Bennie Thompson, and Virginia farmer Linwood Brown, on the Black Entertainment Television show "Our Voices" hosted by Ms. Bev Smith. His pro-active efforts to eliminate discrimination and demanding dignity, fairness, and respect for all people gained the attention of the White House, Members of Congress, and the media resulting in positive outcomes for USDA employees and Black farmers. In addition, he has testified before the Congressional Black Caucus, the House Agriculture Committee, and the House Committee on Government Affairs and Oversight. His outspoken and tireless support of Black farmers recently prevailed in their quest for justice, winning a financial settlement from USDA, after decades of discrimination.

Lawrence retired from USDA in 1994, after 36 years of public service. He came to USDA in 1977 as a political appointee during President Jimmy Carter's Administration. Served as speech writer for former Agriculture Secretary Bob Bergland, Assistant and Under Secretaries; spent five years in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as a photogrammetric instructor representing the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of Defense; and hold the distinction of being the first African American instructor at the Ethiopian Mapping and Geography Institute.

Mr. Lucas is a native Washingtonian. In June 1983, he earned a Masters of Science Degree in Adult Education (Administration) from the University of the District of Columbia and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles Campus in June of 1994. This dynamic speaker and civil rights advocate is well-respected both inside and outside the Federal Government and by all the people he serves.

"The measure of a man is not where he stands at times of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at moments of challenge."

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.