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Showing posts with label Agriculture Department. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Agriculture Department. Show all posts
The Shirley Sherrod story took another turn today. Villagers recall that Mrs. Sherrod was forced to resign in July after edited misleading video footage of a speech she gave was posted on the Internet.
This blog joined with many others in asking President Obama to reinstate Mrs. Sherrod to her position. However, Sherrod decided that she was not going to come back to the Obama administration on a full time basis. She will be accepting work as an outside consultant with the US Department of Agriculture.
She explains to CNN's Tony Harris why she declined the positions offered by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in the following video:
Does anyone know if there was any consequence to Andrew Briebert for his deceitful blog post on Mrs. Sherrod that created the shytstorm in the first place?
On Monday, Andrew Breitbart (a blogger who works closely with FOX News and has a long history of launching deceptive, racially charged smear campaigns) posted a deceptively edited video of USDA employee Shirley Sherrod speaking at an NAACP function. The video shows Sherrod telling a story about how she once was asked for help from a White farmer, and how she didn't "give him the full force of what I could do" to help him, because of his race.
Breitbart touted the video as evidence that the NAACP and the Obama administration tolerated racial discrimination against White people, saying that it showed Sherrod's "federal duties are managed through the prism of race and class distinctions." Breitbart's doctored video and false storyline moved quickly to FOX News, where on-air personalities called for Sherrod's firing.
The truth is that Sherrod was telling a 24-year old story about her work for a non-profit organization whose mission was to help Black farmers. Discrimination against Black farmers was rampant, and she described how she was first reluctant when approached by a White farmer named Roger Spooner for help (Sherrod also says that her father was killed by a White farmer 45 years ago). But after seeing that no one wanted to help Spooner, she worked to save his farm, and eventually became good friends with his family.
Yesterday, Roger Spooner said that Sherrod saved their farm and kept them out of bankruptcy. He told CNN, "I don't know what brought up the racist mess. They just want to stir up some trouble, it sounds to me in my opinion."
The NAACP was snookered. They joined the attack on Shirley Sherrod based on the the edited video. They should have simply watched the full speech before they rushed to judgement. The full video is shown below:
It took less than 24 hours for the lies to be debunked. But by that time, it was too late — Sherrod was forced to quit.
Once the truth became known, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a statement saying that whether or not the smear campaign against Sherrod was based in lies, it was necessary to fire her because the "controversy" would make it hard for her to do her job.
The Obama administration is essentially saying that they will always back down in the face of dishonest, race-baiting smear campaigns launched by right-wing propagandists. They've ended the career of someone who did nothing wrong, and by handing a victory to the people who launched this deception, the administration is encouraging them to launch even more smears. All to avoid "controversy." It's pathetic, it's shameful, and it has to stop.
It's not the first time this has happened. Several members of the Obama administration have lost their jobs or been demoted, and nominees to cabinet positions have either stepped down or withdrawn their nominations after becoming the target of smear campaigns launched by FOX News and Breitbart.
It's bad enough that we have to fight the constant smear campaigns and appeals to racial paranoia from FOX and the right-wing media. But it's completely shameful and outrageous for the Obama administration to throw innocent public servants under the bus just to avoid having to fight back against the lies.
Please join us in calling on the White House to immediately give Shirley Sherrod her job back, and to stop bowing to the will of right-wing propaganda artists.
Field Negro (BBR #9) and others took the Obama administration to the woodshed for reneging on a promise to the impoverished Black farmers. As such, I was glad to see that Obama did the right thing when push came to shove.
President Barack Obama is proposing that the government give $1.25 billion to settle discrimination claims by Black farmers against the Agriculture Department.
The White House said the money would be included in Obama’s 2010 budget request.
Earlier this year, Black farmers and lawmakers criticized Obama for neglecting the need for more money to fund claims under a 10-year-old, class-action lawsuit against the government.
In a statement, Obama said the proposed funds would “close this chapter” in the agency’s history.
"My hope is that the farmers and their families who were denied access to USDA loans and programs will be made whole and will have the chance to rebuild their lives and their businesses," Obama said.
John Boyd (shown in photo shaking Obama's hand), head of the National Black Farmers Association, has called the proposal a "step in the right direction," but said additional funds would be needed.
"We think this is a good step in the negotiating process. We're glad to know this issue is on the president's radar screen and we commend him for taking this step," he said. But "we need to make sure that none of the Black farmers are left out."
