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Lee took the initiative to meet with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to discuss the firing.
"We want to thank Secretary Tom Vilsack for meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus today regarding the issues surrounding the resignation of Shirley Sherrod," said a statement issued by the CBC. "During the meeting, we expressed our concern regarding the handling of the situation. Secretary Vilsack assured us that there would be a full review of the process which led to this unfortunate situation. "
The statement also mentions that there was a productive conversation about the long-standing lawsuit filed by black farmers who've been victims of racial discrimination.
I was happy to hear that the CBC got involved with the situation involving Shirley Sherrod. The idea that she can be so quickly victimized by right-wing deception is problematic enough. The added fact that the Obama administration was not quick to resolve the issue and reinstate Sherrod was an even greater concern. Perhaps if Sherrod were Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates or Vice President Joe Biden, Obama might be quicker to defend this black woman in distress. The sad part of it all is that while Gates and Biden both made serious mistakes in their debacles, Sherrod was politically broadsided in one of the most publicized deceptions of the past five years.
This experience is not one that should be left in the past, for there is a long list of teachable opportunities. Right now, the unfortunate lesson that has been learned by many Americans is that speaking honestly about race will get you fired and no one will have the courage to support you. The lesson that must ultimately come from this is that our nation is in serious need of a long-term dialogue on race to work through the divisions that continue to undermine our nation's progress. President Obama promised this dialogue in 2008, but it was never delivered. But perhaps it is up to the American people to pursue this important agenda. I hope the CBC can help us.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here. 
Comments: (13)
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By: Attorneymom on 7/22/2010 6:41AM
Bravo to Congresswoman Barbara Lee and the Congressional Black Caucus.
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By: alie on 7/22/2010 7:22AM
This organisation is by far the best of all the black organisation, they know the political games Obama is playing and has played with them, they were the ones kicked out of the whitehouse when the did not support president obama's recommendation that they should support kegan, they have good insight, shirley sherrod is better off putting her support and funding support here, the Obama administration is so fixated with been seen not to be impartial if fox news says jump they say how high, fox news (sly news) help bring down, acorns the obama administation took the bait, van jones again the administation took the bait, the new black panther the administration are taking the bait, then they went after the naacp and shirley sherrod, this last one nearly nearly work but thank God this woman who appears to be a christian, God is always on the side of the righteous make no doubt about it, when she said she felt particularly hurt by the naacp, i can well believe an organisation as with al sharpton have their asses up obama that they see nothing else, anyway shirley take your time, you were thrown under the bus too, but God took from out under that bus and you are still standing, the obama administration should be ashamed of themselves and i hope president obama looks at the full tape along with his family to remind them that they need to know their history as well as workers at the naacp, in particular it's head who seemed to be a matter of fact in his attitude, what got me is when the naacp said when they had heard what the white farmers said, then they believed mrs sherrod, so again believe the white man and not the black, what sort of organisation is this, black people we need to get a reality check including obama's we as a people whatever we do for each other is never good enough, you would rather believe the whiteman that your own, and like mrs shirley says in her full video tape you have to crooked black lawyers out their but their is good and bad in everybody. Obama get a grip and step up to the plate, this is what happends when you run from issues you should be dealing with head on , the opposition right wings and fox news always look for weaknesses, and they will continue to look for weaknesses until they bring you down!
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By: alie on 7/22/2010 12:14PM
I do believe you think some bloggers don't know what they are talking about, everybody knows that the president is a busy man and has lots of things to deal with, like mrs sheppard said when she found out that this had to do with the whitehouse how do you think you are going to feel, maybe you work for the whitehouse i don't know or any large organisation, and to get three calls in quick session, like she said no one would listen to her, and the last call to say resign because she was going to be on glen beck? who the hell is glen beck of fox news that the whitehouse has to jump everytime they get a story that could be damaging to the white house, it sounds like all they have to say is jump by fox news and the reply from the whitehouse how high, appeasing racist only fuels the fire, the very first thing as he has promised was to talk and have a conversation on race which is in the very fabric of american society, mrs shepprod got pass race a long time ago when her father was killed by the kkk. Maybe next time the Obama adminstration would do the simple thing like most businesses and news has this been vetted!
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By: Mimi on 7/22/2010 7:30AM
THERE ARE MANY LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM THIS UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT.
THE RIGHT WING ACTUALLY TOOK THE TIME TO ALTER A VIDEO FOR PURE HATEFUL RACIST RESULTS.
THE RIGHT WING HAD THE FULL VIDEO SO THEY KNEW EXACTLY WHAT SHE WAS SAYING ON THE VIDEO.
THIS DOCTORED VIDEO SHOWS JUST HOW DISHONEST AND AND DESPICABLE THE RIGHT WING, TEA PARTY, REPUBLICANS ARE.
THEY HAVE NOW BEEN EXPOSED FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD TO SEE JUST HOW DECEITFUL THEY CAN BE. THEY TOOK THE TIME TO ALTER A VIDEO OF SHIRLEY SHERROD WHO WAS TALKING ABOUT MENDING RACE RELATIONS AND THEY TRIED TO TURN IT INTO A RACE HATING VIDEO.
SHIRLEY SHERROD IS A REAL PERSON MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE IN RACE RELATIONS.
ANDREW BREITBART, THE RIGHT WING, THE REPUBLICANS, THE TEA BAGGERS ARE ALL EXTREMELY DISHONEST PEOPLE.
ON AOL BLACK VOICES WE ARE INUNDATED ON A DAILY BASIS BY THE SAME TYPE OF DISHONEST, DECEITFUL, HATEFUL REPUBLICANS AND YET THEY WANT TO TELL US THAT THE TEA BAGGERS ARE JUST A "WE LOVE ALL AMERICANS" TYPE OF POLITICAL GROUP.
YEAH RIGHT....I SAW THE DOCTORED SHIRLEY SHERROD VIDEO. THE WORLD KNOWS JUST WHAT TYPE OF PEOPLE THE RIGHT WING ARE.
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By: alie on 7/22/2010 9:01AM
I understand know that mrs sherrod would like a face to face chat with president obama, do you think he will meet her face to face? watch this space, i tell you one thing if he doesn't meet with her one on one black people will lose all respect for him! van jones, acorn, the black panther they all need face to face meetings to find out what goes on at the whitehouse!
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By: Mimi on 7/22/2010 10:58AM
PRESIDENT OBAMA DOES NOT HAVE TO MEET WITH HER FACE TO FACE TO OFFER AN APOLOGY. IF HE DOES SO FINE IF HE DOESN'T THAT IS FINE ALSO. PRESIDENT OBAMA DID NOT TERMINATE HER EMPLOYMENT HE BACKED THE DECISION BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT HE RECEIVED.
PRESIDENT OBAMA CANNOT BE "PHYISCALLY" INVOLVED IN EACH AND EVERY SINGLE DECISION THAT COMES ACROSS HIS DESK INCLUDING PERFORMING THE INVESTIGATIVE WORK TO DETERMINE IF A VIDEO IS FAKE OR REAL. HOWEVER HE HAS OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE ENTRUSTED IN THOSE POSITIONS TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS BASED ON THEIR INVESTIGATION OF WHATEVER THE ISSUE IS. AS PRESIDENT HE BACKS THEIR DECISION BASED ON THEIR RESEARCH AND THE INFORMATION THEY GATHER AND REPORT TO HIM.
OF COURSE WITHOUT A DOUBT A THROROUGH INVESTIGATION SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE PRIOR TO MRS. SHERROD'S POSITION BEING TERMINATED. PRESIDENT OBAMA WENT WITH THE INFORMATION THAT WAS GIVEN TO HIM. I KNOW SOME OF YOU THINK HE SHOULD HAVE DROPPED EVERYTHING HE WAS DOING AND PEFORMED HIS OWN INVESTIGATION OF THE VIDEO JUST SO THE REPUBLICANS CAN COME OUT AND SAY WHY IS HE NOT PLUGGING THE OIL SPILL AS OPPPOSED TO INVESTIGATING A "RACIST" VIDEO? THEN THAT WOULD HAVE LED TO A BUNCH OF STUPID UNECESSARY B.S. BY THE REPUBLICANS.
BUT SOME OF YOU SEEM TO BE SUGGESTING THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA SHOULD HAVE DROPPED EVERYTHING IN HIS EXTREMELY HECTIC SCHEDULE AND DID THE LEG WORK OF THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE ALTERED VIDEO. WHICH SOUNDS TOO STUPID TO BE REAL.
SOME OF YOU APPARENTLY DON'T KNOW THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS A CABINET AND OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAVE POSITIONS IN WHICH THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO REPORT THEIR FINDINGS TO THE PRESIDENT AND BASED ON WHAT THEY REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT HE BACKS THEM.
NOW ALL THE TRUTH ABOUT THIS FABRICATED VIDEO HAS COME OUT.
THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I WOULD WAVER MY SUPPORT OF PRESIDENT OBAMA BASED ON THE FACT OF IF HE OFFERS A ONE ON ONE APOLOGY TO MRS. SHERROD OR IF HE DOES NOT.
SHIRLEY SHERROD SAID ON THE TODAY SHOW THIS MORNING THAT SHE WOULD LIKE A PHONE CALL FROM THE PRESIDENT, BUT NO FACE TO FACE FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA IS NECESSARY. IF MRS. SHERROD CAN ACCEPT THAT I KNOW I SURE CAN.
PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS NOT BEEN IN OFFICE A FULL TWO YEARS. HE HAS MORE SH-T ON HIS PLATE THAN ANY OTHER PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.
HE HAS TO DEAL WITH A F'D UP ECONOMY THANKS TO THE PRIOR ADMINISTRATION, HE HAS TO DEAL WITH THE WAR, HEALTH CARE ISSUES, OIL SPILL, AND THE DISHONEST REPUBLICANS AND ALL OF THEIR LYING B.S ON BEHALF OF LARGE BUSINESSES SUCH AS THE BANKS, INSURANCE COMPANIES AND BIG OIL COMPANIES LIKE BP.
MISTAKES HAPPEN. THE PROBLEM WITH A MISTAKE IS IF IT IS NOT ACKNOWLEDGED AND LEFT THE WAY IT IS AS OPPOSED TO IT BEING RECTIFIED. THE WHITE HOUSE IS IN THE PROCESS OF RECTIFIYING THE MISTAKE THAT WAS MADE. THEY HAVE ALREADY ISSUED AN APOLOGY TO MRS. SHRERROD AND THEY HAVE OFFERED HER A NEW POSITION.
I THINK THAT PEOPLE WHO KNOWING ALL OF THE SH-T PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS ON HIS PLATE, WOULD LOSE SUPPORT FOR HIM BECAUSE HE DOES NOT DO A FACE TO FACE APOLOGY TO MRS. SHERROD ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE IMMATURE,FEEBLE MINDED, DON'T HAVE A CLUE TO WHAT IS GOING ON AND MOST LIKELY NEVER SUPPORTED PRESIDENT OBAMA IN THE FIRST PLACE.
NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WHO SUPPORTED THE PRESIDENT WOULD LET ONE INCIDENT SUCH AS THIS, TAKE AWAY FROM THEIR SUPPORT OF THE PRESIDENT.
HELL IF THAT WERE THE CASE...WHY IN THE HELL DIDN'T YOU PEOPLE JUST VOTE FOR MCCAIN AND PALIN?
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By: alie on 7/22/2010 12:19PM
@ Mimi I do believe you think some bloggers don't know what they are talking about, everybody knows that the president is a busy man and has lots of things to deal with, like mrs sheppard said when she found out that this had to do with the whitehouse how do you think you are going to feel, maybe you work for the whitehouse i don't know or any large organisation, and to get three calls in quick session, like she said no one would listen to her, and the last call to say resign because she was going to be on glen beck? who the hell is glen beck of fox news that the whitehouse has to jump everytime they get a story that could be damaging to the white house, it sounds like all they have to say is jump by fox news and the reply from the whitehouse how high, appeasing racist only fuels the fire, the very first thing as he has promised was to talk and have a conversation on race which is in the very fabric of american society, mrs shepprod got pass race a long time ago when her father was killed by the kkk. Maybe next time the Obama adminstration would do the simple thing like most businesses and news has this been vetted!
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By: Mimi on 7/22/2010 1:20PM
AGAIN IT'S MORE THAN OBVIOUS THAT A MISTAKE WAS MADE.
MISTAKES HAPPEN. BUT THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THAT THIS PARTICULAR MISTAKE WOULD MAKE ME NOT SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT.
THE PRESIDENT DID NOT MAKE THE DECISION TO TERMINATE HER EMPLOYMENT. MRS. SHERROD WAS ON "THE VIEW" AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT SHE WAS DRIVING ON THE ROAD FOR THREE HOURS WHEN SHE RECEIVED THE THREE PHONE CALLS AND BASED ON EVERYTHING THAT WAS SAID SHE HAD TO GIVE HER RESIGNATION.
AS SOMEONE ON THE VIEW ASKED THE QUESTION ABOUT THE IDIOT WHO DOCTORED THE VIDEO. WHERE IS HIS APOLOGY TO MRS. SHERROD? HE KNEW THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS ACTIONS BUT DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING AS FAR MRS. SHERROD RECEVING THE THREE TELEPHONE CALLS, AND WHAT ORGANIZATION COULD JUST DO THAT. IF SHE WORKS FOR THE GOVERMENT WHICH SHE DOES...THEN THAT'S THE ORGANIZATION THAT CAN JUST DO THAT AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY DID.
MRS. SHERROD HAS ACCEPTED THE APOLOGIES FROM THE WHITEHOUSE.
MRS. SHERROD MAY NOT KNOW IT BUT SOMETIMES THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN SO THAT WE CAN SEE OTHER THINGS THAT NEED TO BE SHOWN. THE WORLD HAS NOW SEEN JUST THE TYPE OF PEOPLE THE REPUBLICANS ARE AND WHAT THEY WILL DO TO BENEFIT THEIR BASE.
MRS. SHERROD WILL BE JUST FINE.
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By: Mimi on 7/22/2010 1:32PM
AS FAR AS FOX NEWS GOES, I DOUBT VERY SERIOUSLY THAT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IS JUMPING TO EVERYTHING THAT FOX NEWS PUTS OUT. THERE IS NO WAY THEY CAN DO THAT BECAUSE FOX NEWS TELLS NUMEROUS LIES ON A CONSISTENT BASIS. THERE IS NO WAY THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION CAN REACT TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.
I DO HOWEVER BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE THERE WAS A VIDEO OF SOMEONE WORKING FOR THE GOVENRMENT SHOWN TO BE A RACIST, IS WHAT PROMPTED THE ADMINISTRATION TO ACT SWIFTLY IN RESOLVING THE ISSUE.
THE ELECTIONS ARE FORTHCOMING AND BOTH SIDES ARE TRYING TO PROTECT THEIR BASE.
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By: viveca green on 7/22/2010 12:33PM
although this situation should bring about productive discussion and action,utimately the most glaring disservice to the american people is that Agiculture Secretary Tom Vilsack did NOT RESIGN IMMEDIATELY after the facts were illuminated.It was his reponsibility PERIOD.
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