Sherrod, who had been forced to resign, turns down USDA
‘I look at what happened to me’
WASHINGTON – Shirley Sherrod politely declined to return to the federal government Tuesday, weeks after she was forced to resign amid a race-laden political controversy.
Looking weary after a 90-minute meeting with government officials Tuesday morning, Sherrod said that she thought the Department of Agriculture’s leadership would have supported her in the new job but that she questioned whether that was enough for her to be effective in the sprawling agency.
“The secretary did push really hard for me to stay and work from inside, but I look at what happened to me,” she said at a news conference with USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. “I know he’s apologized, and I accept it. A new process is in place, but I don’t want to test it.”
The Obama administration, which stumbled badly in the episode, had hoped to rectify its relationship with Sherrod, but apologetic calls from Vilsack and President Barack Obama and the offer of a promotion to deputy director of outreach and advocacy failed to woo her back.
In rushing to oust Sherrod on the basis of a deceptively edited video of a speech she gave in March, the administration was left looking fearful of racial issues and conservative criticism. Sherrod, who is black, was called a racist and hastily forced to resign based on the misleading video clip, which made it appear that she had discriminated against a white farmer. Her speech, in fact, was about racial conciliation.
Initially, White House officials tried hard to keep the controversy from rising above Vilsack’s level. But it wasn’t long before Obama felt compelled to weigh in, chiding his team not to be so afraid of the news cycle as to make rash decisions.
Vilsack said Tuesday that he will require better communication between senior officials when an employee’s job is on the line.