Shirley Sherrod (born November 20, 1947[2]) is the Executive Director for the Southwest Georgia Project and Vice President of Development for New Communities at Cypress pond.

[6] After Sherrod and her husband lost their farm when they were unable to secure United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans,[8] they became class action plaintiffs in the civil suit Pigford v. Glickman.

"[6] A federal law passed in 2008 — with then-Senator Barack Obama's sponsorship — to allow up to 70,000 more claimants to qualify,[6] which included New Communities, for the communal farm in which Sherrod and her husband had partnered.

In 2009, chief arbitrator Michael Lewis ruled that the USDA had discriminated against New Communities by denying a loan to the operation and extending more favorable terms to white farmers.

However, upon review of the complete, unedited video in full context, the NAACP, White House officials, and Tom Vilsack, the United States secretary of agriculture, apologized for the firing, and Sherrod was offered a new position with the USDA.

Circuit overturned Judge Leon's order directing Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack to give a deposition as part of pretrial discovery.

In a gesture they hope will inspire others to engage in the difficult but critically important process of bridging racial divides, the parties have agreed to resolve this lawsuit on confidential terms.