Speaking of Racism

by folkbum

So the right-wing hack machine known as "Big Government"--the studio responsible for last summer' blockbuster ACORN tapes--has pulled another fast one. Here, they've been caught editing an African-American woman's story of learning to trust and work side-by-side with whites for a common good into a clip that makes her sound racist and like she's abusing her federal position to keep the white man down. It's a lie!

Sherrod [the black woman in question made out to be racist here] noted that few news reports have mentioned that the story she told happened 24 years ago--before she got the USDA job--when she worked with the Georgia field office for the Federation of Southern Cooperative/Land Assistance Fund.

"And I went on to work with many more white farmers," she said. "The story helped me realize that race is not the issue, it's about the people who have and the people who don't. When I speak to groups, I try to speak about getting beyond the issue of race." [. . .]

But Spooner [wife of the (now deceased) white man Sherrod allegedly screwed over], who considers Sherrod a "friend for life," said the federal official worked tirelessly to help the Iron City couple hold onto their land as they faced bankruptcy back in 1986.

Indeed, the Big Government-released video actually claims that this happened "in her federally appointed position overseeing billions of dollars," not two decades ago. Shameless! (CNN has a report here, too.)

Certain segments of the right have been targeting successful activist African Americans (Van Jones, Desirée Rogers, even Regina Benjamin) and organizations whose mission is to help African Americans achieve political, economic, and social parity (ACORN) since November 2008. It seems to me that many of the protestations that it's we liberals who are really racist are classic cases of projection.