Shirley Sherrod - Biography
Shirley Sherrod was born Shirley Miller in 1948 to Grace and Hosie Miller.[1] She was born in Baker County, Georgia.
Charles and Shirley Sherrod have two children. A son named Kenyatta and a daughter named Russia. Russia Sherrod was born in 1967 and graduated high school in 1985 - she was born in the year Russia celebrated their 50th anniversary of the revolution.[2]
When Shirley was 17 years old in 1965, her father who was a deacon at a local Baptist Church, was shot to death by a white farmer. The official story claims it was over a dispute concerning a few cows.[3] An all-white jury was convened and no charges were brought against the alleged shooter. This was one of Shirley's pivot points in life. She became determined to remain in the South to help other African Americans and to further civil rights. Shirley was among the first African American students to enroll in the local high school in Baker County.
After high school, she attended Fort Valley State University. She later majored in Sociology at Albany State University in Georgia. During this time she devoted her time to civil rights issues alongside and with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. This is where she met Charles Sherrod who was a minister as well.[4]
Shirley proceeded to attend Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio. She earned her Master's degree in Community Development. She would later return to Georgia in her job with the Department of Agriculture in Georgia. She was devoted to helping minority farmers keep their land.
In 1969, Sherrod co-founded a communal farm project called New Communities Inc. The 6,000 acre project was located in Lee County, Georgia and at the time was the largest tract of African American-owned land in the country.[5] The project soon ran into problems. White farmers leveled charges against the participants claiming that they were Communists. They also had difficulties from segregationist Governor Lester Maddox, who blocked development funds from entering the state. The project eventually failed in 1985 after a drought in the 1970s and due to their inability to secure government loans.
Sherrod proceeded to work with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives. Her aim was to assist African American farmers hold onto their land.
- Since 1985, Sherrod has served as Director of the Georgia Field Office for the Federation of Southern Cooperative/Land Assistance Fund. She has also served as Georgia State Lead for the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic and Social Justice.
The Sherrods lost their own farm when they were unable to secure loans from the USDA. Sherrod and a large number of activists sued the USDA after losing their farm in Pigford v. Glickman.
External links
References
- ↑ Shirley Sherrod shaped by father's slaying ajc, July 23, 2010
- ↑ Sherrod: "We Must Stop The White Man And His Uncle Toms ..." Riehl World View, July 26, 2010
- ↑ Sherrod's steadfast motto: 'Let's work together' CNN, July 22, 2010
- ↑ Despite adversity, Shirley Sherrod has history of civil service The Washington Post, July 22, 2010
- ↑ Shirley Sherrod named Georgia Director of Rural Development Rural Development