SAN DIEGO, July 29 (UPI) -- Shirley Sherrod, the U.S. Agriculture Department employee fired July 19, said Thursday she will sue the blogger who edited the video that led to her dismissal.
Sherrod, who was forced to resign from her position as Georgia state director of rural development for the USDA, told the National Association of Black Journalists convention in San Diego she "will definitely do it" when asked if she plans to file a lawsuit against right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart, adding Breitbart "had to know that he was targeting me," CNN reported.
"At this point, he hasn't apologized. I don't want it at this point, and he'll definitely hear from me," Sherrod said.
The Obama administration hastily dismissed Sherrod shortly after Breitbart's deceptively edited video hit the airwaves. The video, part of a speech she gave to the NAACP in March, appeared to show Sherrod admitting she declined to help a farmer save his land because he was white. Viewed in its entirety, the full speech related Sherrod's struggle to overcome her own prejudices, and in the end she was able to help the farmer, who appeared on CNN to defend Sherrod and praise her as a lifelong friend.
The Obama administration soon apologized to Sherrod for its premature action and offered her a job in advocacy and outreach, a position she is still considering.
Speaking Thursday at the National Urban League conference in Washington, President Obama said Sherrod "deserves better than what happened last week," adding claims of racism against her are "bogus."
