Welcome to this blog that I have set up for Sociology 240: Race and Ethnic Relations. We will be using this blog for a variety of activities and exercises throughout the semester, the first of which I post below. In addition to having you post comments on this blog, I will also use it from time to time to post some lecture notes (if I get behind in class), or to post a significant passage I may quote in class from sources other than the required reading. To save paper, I may use this blog to post descriptions of some of the short essays you'll be asked to write. This blog will be instrumental in your preparation for the midterm and final exams because the questions that you make up for these exams will appear on this blog (along with the answers, of course). I will be sure to mention in class if any new material has been posted, but I would suggest that you get in the habit of checking this blog once or twice a week to see if there is any new material you need to pay attention to.
"GET YOUR FEET WET EXERCISE"
I want everyone to do a little digging on the Internet or other sources (newspapers, magazines, etc.) for information about someone who was much in the news during the latter part of July, Shirley Sherrod. Many of you may already know something about her story, but even if you do I'd like you to try to get a rounded or whole picture of the incident Ms. Sherrod was the focal point of. Then, I'd like you to post a ONE or TWO PARAGRAPH comment identifying a lesson that you believe can be drawn from this incident which has relevance for this class on race and ethnic relations. Note: you do NOT have to cite any sources as you would in a paper and there is NO ONE CORRECT ANSWER that I am looking for; the lesson you draw may touch on different aspects of this incident. The only thing that I ask is that you make an effort to get the whole story and base your observations on that.
This exercise is worth 5 points, and please try to post your comments NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, SEPT. 17TH.
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Shirley Sherrod was accused of being a racist in the alleged racism controversy involving white farmers. It seems like just because Sherrod said that she didn’t have any experience in helping white farmers, but black farmers, people took it out of proportion and made it seem like she was being racist. But in fact, she was merely stating that she hadn’t done work with white farmers before, not that she wasn’t going to help them at all, because in fact, she did help them save their farm. In watching videos of Roger and Eloise Spooner, in response to what happened with Sherrod, they did not believe that she was being racist at all. Sherrod took them to a black lawyer first, who was not able to help them. Then she took them to a white lawyer, who did know what to do and helped them save their farm.
Roger and Eloise Spooner defended Sherrod, saying that she was in no way racist. They said that the people who blew up the story didn’t know what they were talking about. Spooner says that Sherrod was nice mannered and friendly and that they couldn’t believe what was being said when they heard about it in the news. Roger Spooner says that he doesn’t believe that Sherrod could have treated them any better. The Spooner’s say that they believe that without the help of Sherrod that they would have lost their farm. I think a lesson that can be learned is that we can’t always judge people by what or how they say something. We can’t take it out of context and turn it into something else. Although Sherrod did say some things that could have been taken the wrong way, she did help the Spooner family save their farm.
The biggest problem with it was the fact that it was a big deal over black and white. Although this would make it seem like a racial problem, I don’t think that Sherrod or the Spooner farmers took it this way. It was more of the fact that Sherrod was simply more accustomed to helping black farmers, people who were like her, and when she was to help these white farmers, she was out of her element, but yet and still she did what she had to do to help them save their farm. Like you (Dr. Ginocchio) said in class, “we need to be conscious of black and white in order to transcend black and white” (Frank Wu), and perhaps this is what Sherrod and the Spooner’s did, and no one else was able to recognize it.
The saying must be true, everything that one does has consequences and if those consequences are not received today, they eventually will surface. This happens to be the case with Shirley Sherrod, who seemed to face the wrath of the whole world 24 years after speaking/bragging to an NCAAP group in Georgia.
After viewing a brief video, searching the internet for more information on the Shirley Sherrod scandal, and hearing Sherrod’s brash statements, I most definitely think that she should not have uttered those words, yet I think that many people can learn from this event. Today things of this nature definitely spark attention and cause many people to make quick judgments, but Sherrod is not much different from the average Joe when one really thinks about things from her perspective. To me, Sherrod seemed to be almost bragging about her encounter with the white farmer because to her he believed that he was superior to her when in fact, according to Sherrod, since the man came to her for help, the ball was only in her court. Resentment for the white race and the hardships faced on a daily basis by African Americans, seemed to have caused Sherrod to explode. It is as if she was trying to punish the whole race by not whole heartedly helping this white farmer and his family. She didn’t give him the “full force of what [she] could do”. She wouldn’t go the extra mile to help a fellow citizen since he was outside of her race, but would she if he was black? Sherrod could not shake the fact that so many black families were either losing their farms or farm less and here is a white man asking for her help. Consider the fact that Sherrod did actually help the man even though she felt the need to get a lawyer who was the same kind as the farmer. Later on Sherrod became good friends with the family and she states that through this process she realized her mistake and that this “thing” was not about blacks vs. whites, but it was more about the poor vs. “those who have”.
To me Sherrod represents the African American who craves the dominating role while the white man plays the inferior for once. Sherrod had to go through this phase to see the big picture. Yes, her actions were not acceptable, yet she is willing to take credit for her downfalls and learn from them. Is not this what one should do regardless of his/her race?
After reading several articles and viewing the video of Shirley Sherrod's speech as well as the clip that caused the unfortunate incident of Sherrod losing her job, I believe there are many lessons that can be learned from this. In my opinion, Sherrod did seem to exhibit a bit of arrogance when she began telling the story of the white farmer who came to her for assistance to avoid losing his farm. However, that tone seemed to change as she went on to tell the full story and she indicated that the lesson she learned from that experience was that racism existed more between the poor, middle and upper classes. I believe this is still true today.
I also think we have to consider Sherrod's past and not just her but anyone who has lived through difficult, life altering experiences. I don't think she does, but in my opinion, she has every right to hold a grudge against white people because of the horrible things her family experienced during a time of violent racial discrimination.
The comments that led to Shirley Sherrod being asked to resign were taken out of context and people in powerful positions failed to gather the facts before taking action.
The incident involving Shirley Sherrod, and others similar to it, is typical in American society...
Typically there is a small minority of people, hence the Tea Party and a select number of NAACP members, that influence the majority in a negative way that can lead to grave consequences (lesson one). What might not be known to most is that the firing of Shirley Sherrod arose from a completely unrelated incident. Days before Andrew Breitbart decided to blantly use Sherrod's comments out of context, members of the NAACP were accusing the Tea Party of condoning racism. The NAACP charged that by allowing people who were racist to remain in the Tea Party's ranks; the Tea Party was actually condoning racism. In response to this accusation, Breitbart posted a video of Shirley Sherrod, again, out of context that would prove that the NAACP had members who were racist themselves. Although the video was taken out of context, it led to the firing of Ms. Sherrod. Slanderous comments were made, but then retracted; apologies were given, but the damage had already been done. What could have not been an issuse at all turned into something tragic. If a more thorough investigation would have been conducted, Sherrod could have kept her job, and been spared from the intial embarrasment of the incident - this was not the case. John Boehner, a Republican, explained that "they only put a little piece of the story out there and people make judgments and they rush and make bad decisions." This is exactly what took place. Sherrod, in her speech, was emphasizng the point that it is not about race in this country; it is about those who have versus those who do not (lesson two). Yet, because of a petty concern of a single Tea Party member, this issue led to a lot of needless debate, slanderous comments that were later apologized for, and the firing of Shirley Sherrod who was forced to resign although the justification for such an action was fallacious.
Here is a comment on lesson two...
Although it is justifiable to say that "The Issue" is no longer black versus white in this country, rather an issue of one's economic standing; in the same instance, we cannot ignore the fact that racism still exists, especially in the South. Racism has not disappreared. It is no longer accepted to openly discriminate against others, but it does happen - too often unfortunately.
We need to learn to do more than just talk about racism. We need to take action to resolve the issue and "trully" move forward.
The Shirley Sherrod incident is significant in part because it highlights the United States’ fear of confronting racial issues, and the way accusations of racism, especially “reverse racism” can be used to damage people in power. Sherrod’s comments at an NAACP event were taken out of context by a Tea Party blogger whose intentions clearly were to portray Sherrod and, by extension, the NAACP, as “reverse racists.”
Earlier in the summer, the NAACP called for the Tea Party to stop tolerating the blatant displays of racism that are common in their rallies.
For Andrew Breitbart, the blogger who edited and posted Sherrod’s speech on his website, framing an African American government official for racism was a way to retaliate for the NAACP’s accusation, and embarrass the Obama administration.
The panic when the video was posted shows how inflammatory issues of race remain. Before seeing the unedited video, the USDA demanded Sherrod’s immediate resignation, not even letting her do it in person. She was driving as she received multiple calls calling for her resignation, and eventually had to resign via email on her phone. The NAACP immediately condemned her as well. No one was willing to have a conversation about the issue, or hear her side of the story. Everyone leaped to condemn her, showing not only fear of being considered racist themselves, but a fear of confronting issues of race. They felt that a quick condemnation of her would allow them to avoid the real issues behind the incident.
Fortunately, the unedited version of her speech surfaced, and those who had condemned her had to admit that they had been misled by segments of the media looking to use the scandal to their political advantage. She received apologies from the USDA, the NAACP, and Obama himself, who offered her a new job, which she declined.
After doing some research on the Shirley Sherrod situation many things stood out to me. One thing I observed from the reaction to Ms. Sherrod’s comments is how race relations in the United States are a touchy subject. Because of Americas past injustices involving slavery and segregation we as a society try to shun and revoke any kind of public racism that we encounter. America doesn’t want to have one of its representatives engaging in prejudiced actions. So when Ms. Sherrod’s remarks were taking out of context and spread out into the media, both the white house and the NAACP had reacted prematurely by terminating her from her job. No organization wants any negative connotation hovering over them, especially if it involves some of Americas morally challenging questions that arise from race, sexual orientation, and the right to life. A lesson that can be learned from this event, is for people to not “jump down another’s throat” when it comes to race relations. Ms. Sherrod was telling a story from 28 years ago and how that event helped her realize that the problems that occurred in her job were not about black and white but about rich and poor. Let someone speak their mind, and give their complete viewpoint; just because someone is describing prejudices or things they have experienced does not mean that they themselves are prejudice. And never take things out of context!!
Shirley Sherrod's situation is in direct correlation with the deep seeded racism that exist in our country. She was attacked for comments taken out of context by many people who probably disliked her initially for her political affiliation, gender, and color of skin. Futhermore, if her statements are heard in full and put back in context, her message is actually a more positive one. In fact, the video is so old, one has to ask if the comments should be able to be used against her even if they were negative. It is true that most people do mature and grow over the span of their lives. As far as President Obama, he relieved her of her duties pretty quickly. I think as a black president, in his position,issues of racism involving politics become difficult yet, have been an issue since his first day on the presidential campaign. Thus.the last thing Obama wants to support is racism. However, many of those who attacked Sherrod or did not defend her, did not do their proper research before acting, including Obama. In his attempts to seem as neutral as possible, Obama turned against the African American woman. In my opinion, as president, Obama should have researched the situation and talked intensely with Sherrod before picking sides. Thus, he would have acted in the most neutral way by not picking sides. However, Obama was so scared of the right being able to say, "our president supports racism", that he acted quickly and without proper reasoning. As far as Sherrod, her attitude and pride as a black woman is a result of the racism she saw growing up. Therefore, it is quite naive for the right wing persons who attacked her character to get mad when she says, "my people", in reference to black people when our founders and their ancestors created the initial division of people that exist today.
The incident with Shirley Sherrod involved action taken by the NAACP and the U.S. government, intending to reject racism, but in fact ended up highlighting this issue. In videos of Sherrod, an excerpt of a speech was taken out of context and from this, she began receiving criticism from insinuations that she was in some way racist toward whites. This episode is a perfect example of the way in which we as humans, but specifically Americans, focus entirely too much on race and ethnicity. In an article, Sherrod was quoted stating, “If I had discriminated against him, I would not have given him any help at all because I wasn't obligated to do it by anyone ... I didn't have to help that farmer. I could have sent him out the door without giving him any help at all.” In fact, she had a choice and she chose to help the white farmer, and ended up remaining friends with him and his family for many years. In fact, later in the same speech, Sherrod emphasizes that her experiences have helped her to realize that poverty, not race, plays the largest factor in rural development. I believe Sherrod’s position was originally stripped merely from the government’s fear of society believing that it is in any way tolerant of racist behavior from their officials. And in Sherrod’s circumstance, this fear was of course heightened because of the fact that our President is now black; surely such drastic actions were taken so as to prevent any accusations of unrecognized or unpunished reverse-racist behavior from government officials.
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