NAACP President & CEO Ben Jealous Decries Shirley Sherrod's Admission of Denying White Farmer Help

Ben Jealous, President & CEO of NAACP issues statement decrying former USDA official Shirley Sherrod's racist act against a white farmer and her admission caught on video at NAACP event.

Ben Jealous, President and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has issued a statement decrying Shirley Sherrod abhorrent statements she made during an address to members of the NAACP at a banquet, about denying a white farmer as much help as she could because of the color of his skin. Here is Mr. Jealous' press release (h/t Free Republic)

(BALTIMORE, MD) NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous issued the following statement today after learning of the resignation of Shirley Sherrod of the United States Department of Agriculture:

“Since our founding in 1909, the NAACP has been a multi-racial, multi-faith organization that-- while generally rooted in African American communities-- fights to end racial discrimination against all Americans.

We concur with US Agriculture Secretary Vilsack in accepting the resignation of Shirley Sherrod for her remarks at a local NAACP Freedom Fund banquet.

Racism is about the abuse of power. Sherrod had it in her position at USDA. According to her remarks, she mistreated a white farmer in need of assistance because of his race.

We are appalled by her actions, just as we are with abuses of power against farmers of color and female farmers.

Her actions were shameful. While she went on to explain in the story that she ultimately realized her mistake, as well as the common predicament of working people of all races, she gave no indication she had attempted to right the wrong she had done to this man.

The reaction from many in the audience is disturbing. We will be looking into the behavior of NAACP representatives at this local event and take any appropriate action.

We thank those who brought this to our national office's attention, as there are hundreds of local fundraising dinners each year.

Sherrod's behavior is even more intolerable in light of the US Department of Agriculture's well documented history of denying opportunities to African American, Latino, Asian American, and Native American farmers, as well as female farmers of all races. Currently, justice for many of these farmers is being held up by Congress. We would hope all who share our outrage at Sherrod's statements would join us in pushing for these cases to be remedied.

The NAACP will continue to advance the ideals of America and fight for freedom, justice and fairness for all Americans.”

I am glad the NAACP has decried Ms. Sherrod's act of racism and I hope this is a teachable moment that we live in a technological age that has shown us repeatedly that an insensitive or racist word and questionable behavior may come back to haunt one when he or she least expects it to.