Ousted Agriculture Department Employee Receives Apology, Offered New Position
African American U.S. Department of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod was forced to resign Monday under White House pressure after the airing of a video of racial remarks she made at an NAACP gathering about events that transpired more than two decades ago. It turns out that her comments were part of a larger story about learning from her mistakes and racial reconciliation. She said her comments were not racist and were taken out of context. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said repeatedly on Wednesday that the decision to fire Sherrod had been his alone, but he realized his mistake and apologized. "I asked for Shirley's forgiveness and she was gracious enough to extend it to me," Vilsack said. Sherrod has been offered a new position but is taking time to mull over the offer. Click here to read more.