Posted on 07/20/2010 7:59:45 PM PDT by kristinn
The NAACP has released a 43 minute long video of the controversial speech given by fired USDA official Shirley Sherrod. Excerpts of the speech showing her using racist language with the support of those attending an NAACP dinner in March were released yesterday by Big Government. Sherrod was forced to resign from her position last night.
The video can be viewed at the NAACP website or go directly to the YouTube video.
After pulling their initial statement denouncing Sherrod, the NAACP released a new statement today claiming the group was "snookered" by Fox News and Andrew Breitbart.
Earlier today, a bitter Sherrod complained of being betrayed by black people in an interview given to Georgia TV stationWALB:
She feels like no one's been willing to fight for her. "It hurts especially when the NAACP is doing it and Roland Martin is doing it. These are black people, they never asked me what happened, these are people who haven't been on the front line like I have for 45 years..."
The new statement by the NAACP:
July 20, 2010
(BALTIMORE, MD) - NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous issued the following statement today after a careful investigation into the presentation of former USDA Official Shirley Sherrod.
"The NAACP has a zero tolerance policy against racial discrimination, whether practiced by blacks, whites, or any other group.
The NAACP also has long championed and embraced transformation by people who have moved beyond racial bias. Most notably, we have done so for late Alabama Governor George Wallace and late US Senator Robert Byrd -- each a man who had associated with and supported white supremacists and their cause before embracing civil rights for all.
With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA Official Shirley Sherrod, we have come to the conclusion we were snookered by Fox News and Tea Party Activist Andrew Breitbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias.
Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Ms. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in this story, we now believe the organization that edited the documents did so with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans.
The fact is Ms. Sherrod did help the white farmers mentioned in her speech. They personally credit her with helping to save their family farm.
Moreover, this incident and the lesson it prompted occurred more that 20 years before she went to work for USDA.
Finally, she was sharing this account as part of a story of transformation and redemption. In the full video, Ms.Sherrod says she realized that the dislocation of farmers is about “haves and have nots.” "It’s not just about black people, it’s about poor people," says Sherrod in the speech. “We have to get to the point where race exists but it doesn’t matter.”
This is a teachable moment, for activists and for journalists.
Most Americans agree that racism has no place in American Society. We also believe that civil and human rights have to be measured by a single yardstick.
The NAACP has demonstrated its commitment to live by that standard.
The Tea Party Federation took a step in that direction when it expelled the Tea Party Express over the weekend. Unfortunately, we have yet to hear from other leaders in the Tea Party movement like Dick Armey and Sarah Palin, who have been virtually silent on the “internal bigotry” issue.
Next time we are confronted by a racial controversy broken by Fox News or their allies in the Tea Party like Mr. Breitbart, we will consider the source and be more deliberate in responding. The tape of Ms. Sherrod’s speech at an NAACP banquet was deliberately edited to create a false impression of racial bias, and to create a controversy where none existed. This just shows the lengths to which extremist elements will go to discredit legitimate opposition.
According to the USDA, Sherrod’s statements prompted her dismissal. While we understand why Secretary Vilsack believes this false controversy will impede her ability to function in the role, we urge him to reconsider.
Finally, we hope this incident will heighten Congress’s urgency in dealing with the well documented findings of discrimination toward black, Latino, Asian American and Native American farmers, as well as female farmers of all races."
###
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
Whine. Snivel. Blame. You can always spot a lib.
How many careers have the NAACP destroyed by race-baiting or taking quotes out of context.
I think the fact that the same tactics are being used against them is poetic justice.
Roland Martin tore into her too.. LOLOL
at least 3 or 4 people must have been watching cnn for that..
I said this yesterday...NAACP is saying/doing all the right things on this one.
So far.
They must have a new VP of Damage Control.
I said this yesterday...NAACP is saying/doing all the right things on this one.
So far.
They must have a new VP of Damage Control.
I’m very disappointed in BigGovernment.com for this farse. I will need to see an explaination, but I doubt they could win back any trust.
Explanation already occurred.
It was on Sean Hannity this evening.
Point was to show the NAACP applauding her racist story, which they did, before they knew the twist ending.
Perhaps Obama should explain why he fired her, Breitbart is in the clear.
I wonder what the rough edit at 21:00 in the tape is all about?
I suspect that Breitbart may not have had access to the full tape. He may have been snookered as well. The posted video did look convincing.
I looked for anything here on FR about your comment and found nothing. I will now search the net for Hannity’s show commentary.
looks like the odumbo bus keeps rolling lol
They can’t take those racial words back out of her mouth, now can they?
It’s not just her words, look at her body language, listen to her attitude...
It’s np, the show just aired about an hour ago, and will be on again in about an hour on FOX.
Basically, his explanation was to show the NAACP applauding this woman’s story, specifically as she described her own racism in her own words, while at the same time the NAACP accuses the tea party of racism with no evidence whatsoever.
To me the explanation is sound, because that is exactly what was shown. My personal opinion on this is that she should have been fired. She was using racist language to describe her own racism in her application of her government job. I’m glad she says she learned form this, but I do not and would not trust her to look out for my best interests at all.
Please enlight us as to why you wish to blame biggovernment.com for this report?
Do you think Brietbart made it up?????
I saw Breitbart on Hannity. It is what chris37 wrote.
Wow. Some of Sherrod’s best friends are crackers.
The only problem with this is that the audience already knew the “twist ending.” Immediately before the clip Breitbart released (and leading into the story Sherrod told in the Breitbart clip), Sherrod said:
“When I made that commitment I was making that commitment to black people and to black people only. But, you know, God will show you things and he’ll put things in your path so that you realize that the struggle is really about poor people.”
Watching the full clip, Breitbart’s post looks bad. If he had the full clip, his editing looks dishonest; if he didn’t, it raises the question of why he didn’t pursue the full video before posting. This is not Breitbart’s finest hour.
The point is also how some out there defend this but not spend this much time defending the Tea Party. Some of you are quicker to throw Andrew under the bus then the liberal media. I am sick of weak people on our side as much as the left.
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