[Oe List ...] Shirley Sherrod

[Lynda Cock]

Thank you, Marshall and George, for these "legacy" stories that fill in gaps
in my knowledge.  Thank you, Marshall, for your bold step in speaking out
with this knowledge to the new leadership.  Lynda Cock 
  _____  

From: oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net [mailto:oe-bounces at wedgeblade.net] On Behalf
Of W. J.
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 5:33 PM
To: oe at wedgeblade.net
Subject: [Oe List ...] Shirley Sherrod


FYI.
From: W. J. <synergi at yahoo.com>
To: Benjamin Todd Jealous <BJealous at naacpnet.org>
Cc: Ms. Kia Heath <KHeath at naacpnet.org>; Julian Bond <JBond at naacpnet.org>
Sent: Wed, July 21, 2010 2:25:34 PM
Subject: Shirley Sherrod


Mr. Jealous, I am pleased that you reversed yourself and applauded Shirley
Sherrod after the dustup which got her fired. You said your organization was
"snookered."

Yes you were. BUT, even taking into consideration your youth and the very
recent time frame of your association with civil rights, how could you have
missed the civil rights history that is associated, particularly in Georgia,
with the name SHERROD??

I don't personally know Shirley Sherrod, but I have known, worked, and
studied at Union Theological Seminary in the 1960's with her husband, the
legendary Rev. Charles M. Sherrod, who was one of the founders, and the
first field director of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a
leader of the Student Interracial Ministry, an ally of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., and an organizer of the Southwest Georgia Project focused on the
voter registration struggle that went on for years in Albany, GA. Charles
went on to found New Communities, Inc., a not-for-profit organization in
Albany that worked with poor, mostly black farmers. The Sherrod family was
instrumental in advancing the lawsuit that finally put a stop to USDA's
racial discrimination with a $13 million dollar award to New Communities,
Inc.

Since you were apparently unaware of all this, you could simply have asked
Julian Bond. 

Or, using Google, you could have gone to the following web pages:
http://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/witnesses/charles_sherrod.html
http://www.ruraldevelopment.org/shirleydirector.html

As one who is retiring and acknowledging a new generation of leadership, my
concern is that you new guys not publicly fall on your faces due to a lack
of knowledge and depth of appreciation for the history we all forged
together as much as a half century ago. We all deserve better than that.

Cordially yours,

Rev. Wayne Marshall Jones, MDiv, MFT
415/831-1537




 
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