CNN: Shirley Sherrod And Eloise Spooner, The Farmer's Wife, Explain What Actually Happened

[Turborama]

Run time: 07:53 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSf-yFqO4Xg   Posted on YouTube: July 20, 2010 By YouTube Member: SuperFastHomeBuyers Views on YouTube: 305   Posted on DU: July 21, 2010 By DU Member: Turborama Views on DU: 636

 
HARRIS: What was the point of the story you were telling to the NAACP in March? What was the point?

SHERROD: The point was to get them to understand we need to look beyond race, to look at working together. I've said to audiences here, not just that one -- and, in fact, I spoke at a housing conference in a county just south of here, and I said, "Look, we need to get beyond the Civil War."

I tell them there are good things about history from the white side, good things about history and culture from the black side. People love to come into this part of the state to see that. I tell them, we need to make the most of it, and if we work together, we can do that.

HARRIS: Do you believe as a principle -- do you believe black people in power can make or have the ability -- can make race-based discriminatory decisions?

SHERROD: I'm sure that can happen. I can tell you I didn't do it.

HARRIS: OK. That was my follow-up.

SHERROD: And you could go to any of the communities that I worked with, and if the staff were free to tell you, you could talk to any of the people I've worked with since I've been at USDA, and they can tell you what my record is.

HARRIS: Shirley, stay right there. I have someone who wants to speak to this whole controversy. Her name is Eloise Spooner. She is -- wow -- Roger Spooner's wife, widow at this point.

SHERROD: Yes.

HARRIS: Widow at this point.

SHERROD: Yes.

HARRIS: Eloise, thanks for taking the time to talk to me.

ELOISE SPOONER, ROGER SPOONER'S WIFE: OK.

HARRIS: What do you think of this whole controversy? First of all, what do you think of Shirley?

SPOONER: She's a good friend.

HARRIS: Describe your relationship with her through the years.

SPOONER: She helped us save our farm.

HARRIS: How did she do that?

SPOONER: By getting in there and doing all she could do to help us.

HARRIS: What did your husband think -- your late husband, think of Shirley?

SPOONER: He's not dead. He's very much alive.

HARRIS: Really?

SPOONER: Yes, he is. He's 87 and he's on inn his Peterbilt truck this morning.

HARRIS: Then I apologize for that. I got incorrect information from one of the newspapers writing on this. I apologize for that.

SPOONER: OK. It's all right.

HARRIS: Is he aware of the controversy swirling around?

SPOONER: Yes, sir. Our son, he came up this morning and says, "Mama, turn on the TV to CNN." And he said, "It's about your friend Shirley Sherrod."

And I said, "What?" And we listened and I said, "Great days, that ain't right. They have not treated her right, because she's the one that I give credit to helping us save our farm."

HARRIS: Let's see. Some of the story here is that you met in the '80s, it was a bad time. It was a bad time in the family's life at the time.

Tell me why you were in trouble with the farm.

SPOONER: Well, we had a lot of dry weather, and we had to run the irrigation a lot. And when you make a good crop, you wouldn't get a good price. And just a number of things together caused it.

HARRIS: Do you remember your first interaction with Shirley?

SPOONER: Yes. At first I looked into -- it was the "Market Bulletin" from Atlanta that we get. We've gotten it for years and years and years. And it said if you were having trouble and you're about to lose your farm, to get with them. And I said, "By George, I'm going to try that."

So I did, and he told us to go see a lawyer. And he said, "Well, you all might as well just go ahead and do what Diane (ph) said to do." And I was so mad when we came home.

So, anyway, a few weeks later, the guy from Atlanta, the "Market Bulletin," he said, "What happened over in Karo (ph)?" I said, "Exactly nothing. He didn't help us at all." He said, "Well, I'm going to get you with somebody that will help you, I think."

And that's when he told us to call Shirley. And we did, and we started right then.

She said, "There's two lawyers, there's a black lawyer and there's a white lawyer, and one -- the black lawyer is in Albany and the white lawyer is in (INAUDIBLE), and you choose the one you want." So I said, "Well, he's in Albany, he's in closer, so maybe we'll just try him, the black one."

And we went to him for months and months and months and paid him some money which was hard to scrape up, and he finally got with the lawyer in Donaldsonville that I had talked to, and he called and told me -- the lawyer in Albany called and told me that he could not handle us anymore, that he had this client that he had had for 10 years, and he was going to have to spend a lot of time on that. He couldn't help us.

HARRIS: Hey, Eloise, a couple of quick questions here about this relationship.

SPOONER: OK.

HARRIS: I'm just trying to establish this relationship.

Explain to me -- I have got a line here that says that you guys picked a bunch of tomatoes?

SPOONER: Yes. One year, after things kind of settled down, I had a really pretty garden that year, and we were going up to Albany for some reason. So I told Roger I was going to pick Shirley some tomatoes, and I did, and we carried them by to her and had a good visit.

HARRIS: You know, what do you think of the statement that's on the tape? You know, it's undeniable, it is there, where Shirley essentially says, "So I didn't give him the full force of what I could do."

SPOONER: Well, she gave enough that it helped us save our farm. And she went two trips -- after the lawyer in Albany did us like he did, well, then I called Shirley and told her, and she said, "You're kidding me." And I said, "No, I'm not. That's the words he told me."

She said, "Well, do you want us to try the one in (INAUDIBLE)?" I said, "Yes, give us an appointment and we'll sure be ready to go."

HARRIS: Eloise, thank you. Thank you for your time.

Shirley, I've got -- Eloise, thank you. That's --

SHERROD: Please tell her I want --

HARRIS: No, go ahead, Shirley.

SHERROD: I don't know that she can hear me, but I haven't talked to here in years, and I'm so happy to hear that both of them are still living.

And Ms. Spooner, I definitely want to contact you.

SPOONER: OK. One time we tried to talk to you and tried to call you, but Roger couldn't get a hold of you.

SHERROD: Oh, OK.

SPOONER: Maybe you can get --

HARRIS: All right. We will make the connection. How's that? We will make that happen?

All right?

SHERROD: Thank you so much.

It is so great to hear your voice.

HARRIS: And Shirley, thanks to you. Thanks for your time and a fuller explanation of your comments. SHERROD: OK.

HARRIS: Appreciate it.

SHERROD: Thank you so much.

Transcript of the full interview, which includes Shirley explaining how she was fired: http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1007/20/cnr.03.html

[rsmith6621]

1. Obama Should Recall Her Resignation NOW!!!!!!

........He is very afraid of the TEABAGGERS....very Afraid!

[1IndependentThinker]

2. The teabaggers and Shirley

Obama is as transparent as Rocks.