US official fired over racial remarks receives new job offer

Jul 22, 2010, 16:18 GMT

Washington - A US government official who was fired for alleged racial remarks said Thursday she is weighing whether to accept a new job offer after receiving an apology from the White House.

Shirley Sherrod, who is black, was ordered to resign from her position in the Department of Agriculture earlier this week after a video surfaced on the internet depicting her in a March speech as saying she had once favored helping black farmers over white ones.

The video, in excerpts first posted by a conservative radio show host and blogger and aired on Fox News Monday, generated a firestorm in the conservative media, eventually leading to her dismissal. But after the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), released the complete speech, apologies began flowing to Sherrod on Wednesday.

'I did not think before I acted and for that reason this poor woman has gone through a very difficult time,' Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a public apology to Sherrod. Vilsack had ordered her firing.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs chalked the mistake up to people overreacting without gathering facts, and he also apologized on behalf of the Obama administration.

'Without a doubt Ms Sherrod is owed an apology,' Gibbs said. 'I would do so on behalf of this administration.'

In the first internet video, Sherrod recalled a time 24 years ago when she was working for a non-governmental organization dedicated to helping farmers, saying she preferred at that time to give more consideration to blacks than whites. What the video failed to show was she went on to say that way of thinking was wrong, and the point of her story was to highlight the need for togetherness and helping others regardless of race.

Sherrod said on NBC's Today show Thursday that she accepted the apologies and that she would consider whether to accept a new job at the Department of Agriculture.

'You know, I have not seen the full offer yet,' she said. 'I need to talk to them more. And I told him I need to think about it. We certainly need to have other conversations.' She told CNN she was 'not sure' if it would be a good idea to go back to the department.