The traditional farm, the peanuts, the cotton, the corn, is probably not the thing to do, because you're up against big farmers who can afford all the equipment to grow those kinds of crops. But we need healthy food. We're being encouraged to eat more vegetables. Our school systems are being encouraged to buy locally. So, we need farmers who can produce that food.
Shirley SherrodI've remained a supporter of the Obama administration, even at the height of my ordeal. There's a lot that he could do differently, but so much of what he's tried to do has been blocked by the Republican officeholders. I think that he could have been a much better president with more support. So, I'm still supportive of him.
Shirley SherrodI grew up on a farm and, prior to my father's murder, I wanted to get away from the farm, and away from South Georgia where the Jim Crow laws absolutely controlled anything and everything we did. So, my goal was to leave once I completed high school. But on the night of my father's murder, I made a commitment that I would not leave the South, that I would stay and devote my life to working for change. So, my father's murder has shaped the course of my life even up to this very day.
Shirley SherrodIf you're in government service for the money, then you'll do what you have to do to survive. But if you're in it to do the right thing, then it might mean that you won't get to stay there, but at least you can say, "I did what was right while I was there."
Shirley SherrodWe have landowners, small growers. We have people who are holding onto land that was acquired by their families after slavery. They need to produce some of the food we eat, so they can pay the taxes and hold onto the property. Taxes keep going up. We, and by we I mean black people, are rapidly becoming a landless people. Our ancestors, coming out of slavery, acquired more than 15 million acres of land. Today, we're probably down to less than 2 million acres.
Shirley Sherrod