When one looks at any aspect of the economy, race and gender are not far from the surface. The administration's response: silence.

Perhaps one of the more eloquent and official retrospectives resulting from the Shirley Sherrod incident was White House Press Secretary Robert Gibb's...

In late July 2010, Ben Jealous, the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, denounced Shirley Sherrod, a black wo...

At the end of a long painful week, Shirley Sherrod's been offered a new job with the USDA's Office of Civil Rights and Community Outreach. She's still considering, though, and who can blame her?

What happened to Shirley Sherrod is an embarrassing reminder of the racial dysfunction in America today and how politics continues to play a critical role in this ugliness.

The "teachable moment" of Shirley Sherrod is that she, like Rosa Parks has used her quiet strength and grace on national television to win over a nation.

In our efforts to move past race, we have run right smack into it. There is no doubt about it. Rather than moving us toward a post-racial society, it has made us hyper vigilant of how race and power intersect in American society.

When you hear the words "unique opportunity" as a qualifier before a government job, then be sure you can and should demand "your own budget."

You may start by reinstating Shirley Sherrod. She deserves that much. You may go further by admitting, as the NAACP has, that you were "snookered."

The right is using its media echo chamber to settle scores and reinforce its own "oppression narrative" in which black racism is a major national problem, and in which racism is not measured by material facts, but by what's allegedly in your head.

Shirley demonstrated a quality too often missing in our leaders: evolution. She used the incident with the white farmer as an opportunity to learn more about the scope of equity.

The Shirley Sherrod fallout is not a time to point figures at one another for liberals but rather go on the offensive. Sherrod is the United States Department of Agriculture employee who came under fire for a supposed inflammatory speech.

***Scroll down for videos, including a complete version of Shirley Sherrod's speech that started the controversy.*** Shirley Sherrod has accomplished...

Shirley Sherrod is the kind of person whose service deserves reward, not to have her name dragged through the right wing mud with the aid of the highest office in the land.

***UPDATED*** 7/20/10, 6:49PM Shirley Sherrod says that she was forced to resign from her position at the USDA after her comments were taken out of c...