On July 19, 2010, Shirley Sherrod was fired from her appointed position as Georgia State Director of Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture.[1][2] Her firing was an administration reaction to media reports on video excerpts from her address to an event of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in March 2010 and commentary posted by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart on his website.[3] Based on these excerpts, the NAACP condemned Sherrod's remarks as racist and US government officials called on the official to resign. However, review of her full speech showed that the excerpts had been selectively edited, and that her remarks – understood in context – were about the importance of overcoming personal prejudices. The NAACP and White House officials then apologized for their earlier criticisms, and United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack apologized for the firing and offered Sherrod a new position.
Extensive media coverage of the excerpted videos, various parties' comments, and later corrections after the full story was discovered, exacerbated the affair. The event brought to the forefront current debates regarding racism in the United States, cable news reporting, ideological websites on the internet, and decisions made by President Barack Obama's administration.[4][5]
The Obama administration apologized to Sherrod, and offered her a full-time, high-level internal advocacy position with the Department of Agriculture,[6][7][8] which she ultimately declined.[9] In 2011, Sherrod filed suit against Breitbart and co-defendant Larry O'Connor for defamation.[10] In 2015, following lengthy pretrial proceedings, Breitbart's death, and efforts by Breitbart's estate to have the suit dismissed which were rejected, the parties settled the suit on undisclosed terms.
- ^ "With Apology, Fired Official Is Offered a New Job". The New York Times. July 21, 2010.
- ^ Montopoli, Brian (July 21, 2010). "Vilsack: I Will Have to Live With Shirley Sherrod Mistake". CBS News.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Fox20100719was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
BBC Newswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Shirley Sherrod blasts Fox News as racist", The Washington Post, July 21, 2010
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
LA20100722was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Tumulty, Karen; O'Keefe, Ed (July 22, 2010). "Fired USDA official receives apologies from White House, Vilsack". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved July 22, 2010.
- ^ the CNN Wire Staff (July 23, 2010). "Sherrod: Andrew Breitbart is 'a liar'". CNN.com. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
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turnsdownwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Zeleny, Jeff; Sarah Wheaton (February 13, 2011). "At Gathering, Ron Paul Is No. 1 for 2012". The New York Times. pp. A21. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
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