From The New York Daily News…
Shirley Sherrod will not return to the Department of Agriculture full-time, declines new job offer
By Sean Alfano, Daily News Staff Writer
Shirley Sherrod, the government official forced to quit last month after being falsely accused of making racist comments, refused an offer to return to work at the USDA full-time.
Since the flap over her remarks, Sherrod has not appeared eager to take a new job with the agency. She held talks with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Tuesday.
“I just don’t think at this point with all that has happened,” she told reporters, though she admitted she was “tempted” to take the job.
Sherrod will remain affiliated with the agency as a consultant.
“I think I can be helpful to him (Vilsack) and the department if I just take a little break and look at how I can be more helpful in the future,” she said.
The incident in question began when conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart posted an edited clip of Sherrod talking about not helping a white farmer during a speech years before she joined the USDA.
The full clip, however, showed Sherrod making a larger point about moving beyond race.
The farmer’s wife came forward shortly after the firestorm erupted to say Sherrod helped her family save the farm.
Both the Obama administration and the NAACP apologized to Sherrod after the full scope of her remarks was revealed.
Prior to her resignation, Sherrod was the USDA’s director of rural development for Georgia. The job Vilsack offered her Tuesday is deputy directory for the Office of Advocacy and Outreach.
In a speech last month, Sherrod said she planned to sue Breitbart.
“I will definitely do it,” she said.
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