Sherrod, Shirley (Miller)
1947- · Contribution: 1969-2010
Cooperative Founder & Advocate
Co-founded New Communities, Inc. in 1969, the first formal community land trust in the United States and, at 6,000 acres, one of the largest Black-owned tracts of land in the country; became a central figure in the Pigford v. Glickman settlement, already profiled in this collection, and was forced to resign a federal post in 2010 after a selectively edited video clip falsely portrayed her as admitting racial bias, before officials reviewed the full speech and publicly apologized
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Quick facts
- Born
- 1947
- Active since
- 1969
- Category
- Agriculture & Food
- Best known for
- New Communities land trustLargest Pigford payoutVindicated after 2010 firing
Impact on the world
Sherrod pioneered the community land trust as a shield against discriminatory lending, then survived a national smear that exposed the dangers of viral misinformation. Her vindication became a cautionary tale about rushed judgment.
An alternative history
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Sources
- Source lookupFind
Firing of Shirley Sherrod)
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Related visionaries
Hamer, Fannie Lou
1917-1977
Founded the Freedom Farm Cooperative, a landmark agricultural self-sufficiency project providing food, housing, and economic independence for Black sharecroppers facing eviction for voting
Pigford, Timothy
20th century-
Lead plaintiff in Pigford v. Glickman, the 1999 class action settlement against the USDA that became, at the time, the largest civil rights settlement in American history, ultimately paying or crediting nearly $1 billion to Black farmers discriminated against in federal farm lending
Paige, Ralph McDaniel
1943-2018
Led the Federation of Southern Cooperatives for 46 years, personally obtaining the Freedom of Information Act documents that built the legal foundation for Pigford v. Glickman, already profiled in this collection; grew the organization from 22 to 75 cooperatives while building 18 community credit unions
Boyd, John Jr.
1965-
Founded the National Black Farmers Association; agricultural policy advocacy