July 28. 2010
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Page 7
O pinion
Concerning
Shirley Sherrod
told the truth
by
C . N icole M ason
The tro u b le w ith S hirley
Sherrod is that she told the truth.
In a small town speech before
an even smaller NAACP chap
ter, she grappled publicly with
the discomfort o f what happens
when power and decisions that
can impact the lives o f ordinary
Americans are in the hands o f
individuals who have tradition
ally been shut o ff from power or
not had access to resources. In
many ways, it is the struggle that
Barack Obama has been con
fronting since he took office.
In our efforts to move past
race, we have run right smack
into it. There is no doubt about it.
Despite our hopes, O bam a’s
election has had exactly the op
posite effect on race relations in
the U.S. Rather than moving us
toward a post-racial society, it
has made us hyper vigilant about
how race and power intersect in
American society.
A few days ago, Shirley’s
email box was filled with hate
m essages. Today, it is over
w h e lm e d w ith a p o lo g ie s.
T here’s a huge elephant in the
room. W hile I think Ms. Sherrod
deserves an apology, I think the
biggest apology we owe is to
ourselves for trying over the last
couple o f years to sweep the
issues o f race and racism under
the rug.
Today, we know more about
how blacks and racial and ethnic
minorities feel about race than
any other time in the history o f
the country. And because there
are more blacks and racial and
ethnic minorities in positions o f
power, there is more scrutiny for
now what is being called reverse
racism.
In her position as the USDA
Director o f Rural Development
for Georgia, Shirley Sherrod was
in a unique position, both as an
A frican A m erican and as a
woman, in terms o f her ability to
dole out much needed resources
to farmers. Years ago, when
Sherrod visited the white farmer,
perhaps, for the first time in his
life, his livelihood and the sur
vival o f his farm was dependent
on the decision o f an African
American. This is a position that
racial and ethnic minorities find
themselves in all o f the time.
However, it is not a position that
many whites find themselves in
very often.
Multiple Apologies in Order
Time to examine the path to justice
by
M elanie L. C ampbell
We've come a long way in
America as it pertains to race
relations. However, when an up
standing woman that has excelled
throughout her long career is
forced to resign before the facts
are revealed, in an effort to be
politically correct; it's time to ex
amine where our journey to jus
tice and equality has led us.
Taking into account the fact
that her father was murdered by
the Ku Klux Kian, Ms. Shirley
Sherrod's story o f her own per
sonal growth and racial transfor
mation epitomizes the change
many of us hope for in America
and have worked for over the
years.
Sherrod was the former Geor
gia state director for rural devel
opment at the U.S. Department o f
Agriculture who was forced to
resign when a right-wing blogger
unjustly accused her of discrimi
nation by taking her words out of
context. The story was picked up
by Fox News and other media
outlets.
As an A fric an A m erican
woman in leadership, I have to
wonder if a man would have
been humiliated and asked to
pull over to the side o f the road
to text a resignation without the
opportunity to tell his side o f the
story.
The National Coalition on Black
Civic Participation calls on the
USDA to make every effort to
right this egregious wrong by
offering Ms. Sherrod her job back,
and making her feel secure that
she will suffer no further reper
cussions due to their rush to judg-
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ment.
Ms. Sherrod deserves an apol
ogy from USDA, the media, and
every individual and organization
that reported the story or publicly
admonished her without a thor
ough investigation o f the facts. A
fast food worker would have re
ceived more respect and due dili
gence.
The lesson here is that if we
strive to be legally and morally
correct rather than politically cor
rect, and take the time to be right
instead o f first, we will not taint
the reputation o f a reputable
woman based on comments taken
out o f context with the intent to
incite racial discord.
Melanie L. Campbell is presi
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o f the National Coalition on Black
Civic Participation.
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Historically, the USDA has
been fraught with allegations o f
discrimination against racial and
ethnic minority farmers. In fact,
they have settled over $2 billion
in lawsuits alleging bias in loan
approval rates and the lack o f
diversity on county committees
responsible fo r adm inistering
USDA programs. In 1920, one
in every seven farms was owned
by African Americans. Today, it
is only 1 in 100.
Just because we do n ’t ad
dress race or the historical im
pact o f racism on communities
and individuals does not mean it
no longer exists. What it does
mean is that we will have a
difficult time moving the country
towards a more just and equal
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Power is shifting in the U.S.
The proverbial table is expand
ing and the halls o f pow er are
extending to groups who have
been historically left out. Anti
immigration policies like the Ari
zona law and call o f reverse
racism from the Tea Party are
attempts to maintain the historic
flow o f power and resources.
The lesson here is that to get
to a post-racial society, we
have to do the w ork as indi
viduals, as com m unities and as
a nation. A nd my friends, we
are not there yet.
Dr. C. Nicole M ason is the
e x e c u tiv e d ir e c to r o f th e
Women o f Color P olicy N et
work at the Wagner School o f
P ublic Service a t N ew York
University.
hodgehsplts@msn.com
hodgecounsellng.com
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