Uncategorized

Shirley Sherrod Says Thanks, But No Thanks

By Kate Pickert | @katepickert | August 24, 2010 | +

Shirley Sherrod, the former USDA official unfairly ousted from her job back in July, has declined to rejoin the agency in another capacity. Saying she has accepted an apology from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who she met with today, Sherrod nonetheless told reporters she wants to “take a little break” from USDA work.

(Vilsack sacked Sherrod after excerpts from a speech she gave at an NAACP function were posted online. The excerpts appeared to show Sherrod discussing how she gleefully discriminated against a white farmer in her job at USDA. The full speech, however, showed she was actually telling a story from decades ago to inform the NAACP audience how she had learned to see past race and grow as a person. Vilsack and President Obama both apologized to Sherrod for the flap.)

It’s never been made clear what job Vilsack offered Sherrod in the aftermath, but reports indicated it would have had Sherrod performing USDA outreach.

Related Topics: naacp, shirley sherrod, tom vilsack, usda, Uncategorized

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  • nflfoghorn

    Johnny Paycheck’s smiling somewhere….

  • ricardo4max

    “Unfairly” my @$$.
    Now she seems to enjoy riding the gravy train. No more work for Shirley.

  • deconstructiva

    Amen to that…
    .

    .
    I’ll bet when the economic recovery finally (someday), this song will be highly prophetic when people quit low-paying crappy jobs they must endure now to keep working.

  • nflfoghorn

    If indeed it is a “gravy train” it’s people like you who furnished the gravy! After all the heck she was unfairly put through are you saying she shouldn’t benefit from notoriety because it’s just not…the Christian Thing to Do?

  • deconstructiva

    There’s probably a book in Sherrod’s future. It will likely be a better read than Sarah Palin’s. Speaking of books, Kate, is there a book in your near future? Ditto for Jay? Or KT? Joe and Amy have a de rigueur book under their belts already (Halperin too) and you two (+ KT) are next. Catherine Mayer is writing one now. Go for it, Kate (you too, Jay).

  • kevin

    Sssh, Ricardo. The Americans are talking.

  • nflfoghorn

    Thx! Would Breitbart try to spin it this way – “Take This Job and a $5M Golden Parachute”?

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