Ousted USDA Employee Sherrod Files Lawsuit

By Black Radio Staff

WASHINGTON -- Former Agriculture Department employee, Shirley Sherrod, who was shown in an edited video making what appeared to be racist remarks has sued the conservative blogger, Andrew Breitbart, who posted the video that led to her dismissal.

Shirley Sherrod said in a statement that she is "still reeling" after she was ousted in a racial firestorm in July. USDA officials asked Sherrod to resign after Breitbart posted the edited video of comments she had made in a speech. Sherrod, who is black, appeared in the video to be saying she was reluctant to help a white farmer, but the parts that were cut revealed she was not.

Within hours, media reports revealed that Sherrod's comments were part of a longer speech describing an event that happened 20 years earlier and was intended as a lesson about racial bias and poverty.

"This lawsuit is not about politics or race," Sherrod said. "It is not about Right versus Left, the NAACP, or the Tea Party. It is about how quickly, in today's internet media environment, a person's good name can become 'collateral damage' in an overheated political debate."

Sherrod, currently unemployed and living in her home town of Albany, Ga., said Breitbart has never apologized and continues to slur her character.