In a saga that has everyone, from

Shirley Sherrod

President Obama on Thursday called and apologized to Sherrod, the USDA director for rural development in Georgia, who was fired by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, over alleged racist comments she made in a speech to an NAACP group. The president expressed "regret about the events of the last several days," the White House said.

In the edited version of the Sherrod’s speech, prepared for Fox News, she seemed to be supporting assistance to Black farmers over White farmers to help them save their farms. She referred to being surprised that a white farmer had come to her for assistance some 24 years ago, at a time when so many Black farmers needed help.

On Monday Sherrod received a telephone call from her superiors that she was being placed on administrative leave because of the speech she made in March. A few hours later, Sherrod received calls instructing her to resign – according to her – “On the instructions of the White House.” In the final call she received while driving through rural Georgia to her office, she was instructed to pull over to the side of the road and submit her resignation on her Blackberry.

Following her dismissal, Sherrod went on a media blitz insisting on her innocence and provided the media with the video of her complete speech.

Secretary Vilsack, after reviewing the original version of the speech and hearing evidence to the contrary, on Wednesday apologized and offered Sherrod a new job in the USDA.

It turned out that the speech was edited to mislead people into thinking that Sherrod was a racist. In the unedited speech, Sherrod was using the experience with the White farmer as an example that race was not the only factor in hindering farmers in Georgia from getting assistance – it was about those who have and those who don’t, regardless of race.

Roger Spooner, the farmer that she helped some 24 years ago to save his farm, appeared on national TV on Tuesday in support of Sherrod, explaining that she is not a racist, but a dedicated public servant who went out of her way to help him and his wife, Eloise, save their farm.

The unedited video and the support of the Spooners showed that an awful mistake had been made in dismissing Sherrod.

It was “a rush to judgment,” said NAACP head Ben Jealous (who also initially accused Sherrod of racism), and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs in apologizing to Sherrod on behalf of the White House.

Sherrod, in her appearances on national TV, said she understood the new job was in a civil rights division of the USDA, but she had not seen the formal offer, and was not certain if she would accept it.

“I have to think about it, before making a decision,” she told NBC’s Today Show on Thursday morning. She also said she accepted the various apologies.

Tampa resident and workplace diversity consultant, Dr. Gilbert Gardener, commenting on the Sherrod incident said, “This nation is over-sensitized to race, but we are too scared to have frank discussions. It is so bad using the words, white, black or colored to describe someone carries the threat of being accused of being racist. The country needs a public campaign, similar to the campaign against HIV/AIDS, to emphatically educate people on all aspects of racism. This is vital for all the diverse races, colors, ethnic groups in America to really live harmoniously, and stop using race as a perpetual boogeyman.”