The Hill News

NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous released a statement Tuesday evening saying the group was “snookered” into criticizing embattled former USDA official Shirley Sherrod. 

The group had previously denounced Sherrod, who is black, after a video clip went viral, giving the impression she had held back on extending benefits to a white farmer because of his race.   

In the statement, Jealous criticized BigGovernment.com â€" the site that originally published the video â€" and its founder, Andrew Breitbart, for editing the clip “with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans.” It showed three minutes of what was a longer speech. 

Jealous explained that Sherrod had in fact helped the white farmer she described, and recounted the incident to the audience “as part of a story of transformation and redemption.” 

The statement then quoted a later portion of the speech. 

“It’s not just about black people, it’s about poor people. ... We have to get to the point where race exists but it doesn’t matter.” 

Sherrod resigned from her post at USDA on Monday.