Blog #1000: Shirley Sherrod's lesson in Race Relations

My one-thousandth blog entry could have very easily have been a book on my first 1000 blogs, or maybe I could have re-submitted the very best blog of the 1000 blogs. Instead -- as in my five-hundredth blog on the epedemic high unemployment rate of African-Americans -- I chose to blog on the recent yet historic racial blunder that I predict will change the tide of racial relations forever.

The racially-charged political, business, social, and media stress thermomater overheated in the case of "former" USDA Georgia State Rural Development Director Shirley Sherrod. America experienced race-baiting times ten, with the overly-exposed/under-researched NAACP event video of Sherrod referring to a situation occurring over 20 years ago, that somehow surfaced on National TV, Radio, Newspapers, and every other form of media. The overexposed edited video forced a resignation of an excellent USDA leader, whom officially is a position within the Obama Administration.

The steered video released to the international media by extreme right-winger Andrew Breitbart was used to prove Breitbart's theory that the NAACP was racist towards White people. Andrew decided to release the edited video in response to the NAACP accused the Tea Party of harboring racists. The NAACP stated this at their 101 year anniversary convention in Kansas City. The video comes at a time in 2010 when there are double-digit unemployment rate for Black men and Black women in USA.

Historically Breitbart's video edit happen to occur during the July 2010 month of the 100-year anniversary of Jack Johnson becoming the first "undisputed" Black Heavyweight champion of the world. Johnson's victory ignited massive racial riots throughout American cities where Whites killed over 23 African-American and injured well over 100 more during the night of Johnson's July 4th victory over previously undefeated champion James J. Jeffries -- Jefferies retired five years earlier but still considered the champ and nicknamed the Bear. Johnson actually won the championship belt two years prior to this July 4th, 1910 "Fight of the Century", on December 26th 1908. Johnson beat then heavyweight champion Tommy Burns in Sydney Australia nearly 100-years to the day before the America people elected the first Black President Barack Obama in November of 2008.

The replay of the "Fight of the Century" championship fight film on July 4th, 1910, was shown in theaters days later. But the showing of the fight in theaters again, caused multiple race riots, counting for 37 additional deaths. Because of the additional riots, the fight film of the Johnson-Jeffries fight was banned from theaters nationally.

In essence, 100 years ago the internationally-honored World Heavyweight Boxing Championship for the first time was won by a African-American Man. One-hundred years later in 2008, a Black Man is elected to the most powerful position in the World, the President of the United States. Responses to these major accomplichments by these two Black men have similar responses by Whites in America. Since the African-American President Barack Obama defeated the 'Arizona' candidate Republican Senator John McCain, guns are selling at an all time high and national news/talk television channels hosts connote racial fears to its' millions of viewers, inclusive of the Breitbart edit video of Sherrod's speech..

Unfortunately, especially today, race is not discussed openly by the Obama Administration nor fairly debated amongst racial groups. An example is the aforementioned first African-American Heavyweight Boxing Champ Jack Johnson has yet to be pardoned by the new Black President for being falsely accused of racial crimes for being Black, brash, and dating White Women by Jack Johnson during his 7-year champion reign. Johnson was even accused and convicted of crimes that were yet law. Yes, laws were created after Johnson's then false convictions.

Jack Johnson deserves to be pardoned because he was arrested and tormented by the U.S. government solely because he was a Black man. His story is by no means unique. But his prominence and historical importance makes his story stand out and helps us all recognize the blatant crimes committed against African-Americans by America’s judicial system. His arrest – like many so many others – was purely racially motivated.

Both the House and Senate have demanded that Johnson be pardoned. The bill to pardon Johnson is on President Obama’s desk, meaning the bill was already passed by House and Senate. But President Obama won't sign it. Why? Some would say that it is because the Justice Department prefers to focus its pardon resources on people “who can truly benefit” from them.

Read more here: http://dagblog.com/politics/jack-johnson-pardon-only-awaits-signature-barack-obama-3131
http://www.czarjustice.com/cmon-mr-president-pardon-jack-johnson/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1238336/posts http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6889019.ece
http://www.pbs.org/unforgivableblackness/knockout/pardon.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-presidential-pardon-boxing-champ-jack-johnson/story?id=8874642


Since this past Monday -- July 19th, 2010 - when Shirley Sherrod was forced to resign from the USDA based on the tainted video released by right extremist Andrew Breibart, Sherrod has been going through sheer hell. The video from an NAACP convention where she speaks of an issue with a poor White family was in the process of losing their farm that happened twenty years ago, a video that was cut short prior to Sherrod's redemptive message coming to grips with helping this needy white farming family. The Breitbart's edited Sherrod video blog aired everywhere. The video made it to Fox TV News, CNN, NBC's Today show, print, and the internet for the world to view Sherrod, and also the NAACP as a discriminating organizaton, whom both are racist against White people.

Shirley Sherrod had every opportunity to be bitter against White people, as her father was shot and killed by a white farmer in 1965. Pre-1970's in the south during the Jim Crow era Black farmers and share croppers where routinely mistreated, short-changed, lynched, shot, and forced off of their land -- as my grandmother Alice Johnson as a seven year-old in 1922 witness. Grandma Alice was forced of her land with her father, mother, and 7 sisters and brothers by a racist mob jealous of the fifty acres the here family owned while a thriving farming family in Harris County, Georgia. In fact, this fifty acres were just a portion of the 786 acres owned by her grand and great-father John R. Hatchett Jr. and Sr..

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 In the closing remarks of Shirley Sherrod's "full" video speech, Sherrod came to terms siding with humanity, morality from her Bible teachings, the real meaning of the "civil" rights movement, and subsequent poor people's campaign, to help the needy people period.

The Spooners -- the White farmer family that Sherrod spoke about at that videotaped NAACP event over twenty years ago -- quickly came to Shirley Sherrod's rescue. The Spooners recognized that Sherrod was the very lady that saved their lives by saving their means of support, that being their farm.

 

Many lessons can be learned by this racial moment. Attorney and Harvard Professor Charles Olgetree put it best in his July 25th Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post ("Race: The Discussion We Avoid"). Professor Olgetree stated: "Racial inequality is perpetuated less by individuals than by structural racism and implicit bias. Evidence of structural inequality is everywhere: in the grossly disproportionate numbers of young black men and women in prison; in the color of students shunted into remedial and special education tracks; in the stubborn segregation of our neighborhoods and schools; in the lack of recreational and academic opportunities for children of color in poor communities; in the inferior medical treatment that people of color receive; and in the still appallingly small numbers of men and women of color in law firms, corporations and government. It is evident, too, in the history of blatant discrimination against black farmers practiced by the Agricultural Department."

 Chronologically:

1. Thursday July 15th: Andrew Breitbart released the edited video of Sherrod from an NAACP event over 20 years ago.
2. Monday July 19th, 2010: Shirley Sherrod was asked to resign, and, according to Shirley Sherrod, "they harassed me as I was driving back to the state office from West Point, Georgia yesterday," Sherrod told CNN. "I had at least three calls telling me the White House wanted me to resign…and the last one asked me to pull over to the side of the road and do it." Sherrod said the final call came from Cheryl Cook, an undersecretary at the Department of Agriculture. Sherrod said White House officials wanted her to quit immediately because the controversy was "going to be on Glenn Beck tonight."

Secondly, the NAACP's Ben Jealous criticizes Shirley Sherrod for Sherrod's apparent negative racial comments calling her edited video's words "shameful".

Thirdly, TV "Journalist" Bill O'Reilly on Fox Cable News condemns Sherrod in his commentary of what appeared, in the edited video, to be racist comments.

3. Tuesday July 20th NAACP sees entire video and during the early morning hours the NAACP retracts "shameful" statements it made criticizing Sherrod the day before. NAACP officially apologized to Sherrod. http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/20/agriculture.employee.naacp/index.html?video=true?video=true&hpt=T1  

USDA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, with the Congressional Black Caucus, apologizes for jumping the gun and demanding that Shirley Sherrod resigns. Vilsack offers Sherrod another position in the USDA, Sherrod states that she has not made up her mind, in large part due to how she was and can be treated with the USDA. http://www.blackenterprise.com/business/2010/07/22/usda-chief-offers-emotional-apology-to-cbc-over-sherrod/

Once the point of the video was show, Bill O'Reilly apologized for making an example out of Sherrod the night before on his commentary. Link here shows the O'Reilly apology on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno http://mediamatters.org/research/201007270009

4. Friday July 23rd  The President reached Ms. Sherrod by telephone at about 12:35. They spoke for seven minutes.


The President expressed to Ms. Sherrod his regret about the events of the last several days. He emphasized that Secretary Vilsack was sincere in his apology yesterday, and in his work to rid USDA of discrimination.

The President told Ms. Sherrod that this misfortune can present an opportunity for her to continue her hard work on behalf of those in need, and he hopes that she will do so. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/07/22/128695843/shirley-sherrod-talks-with-obama

5. Sunday July 25th. on the Sunday talk shows all of the Black leaders, including National Urban League President Marc Moria, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Political analyst Donna Brazile, and others, agreed that the President needs an African-American on his staff that deals with Racial issues. They feel that the people around President Obama too often avoid racial issues or do not deal with Black issues...period.


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Masters Degre recipient Shirley Sherrod and has taken the high road by not denegrating anyone, except Andrew Breitbart. Breitbart still refuses to apologize to Shirley Sherrod and has had several opportunities to do so.

The fighter for the poor farmers Shirley Sherrod has since exposed the USDA for ignoring the plight of African-Americans, Women, Latinos, American Indians, and Asian farmers constant requests for the USDA's assistance.

Sherrod's request to meet the President Obama for lunch in the farmlands of Georgia to see for himself how poor farmers are living was an intelligent and an active gesture. We would all hope that the President's advisers do not steer him from the Georgian request.