Sherwood not sure she'd return to Ag Department

[July 21, 2010]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The woman at the center of a racially tinged firestorm involving the Obama administration and the NAACP says she's not certain whether she would return to the Agriculture Department if invited back.

Caption: In this Dec. 18, 2006, file photo, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack appears on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" in New York City. The Obama administration is standing by its quick decision to oust a black Agriculture Department employee, Shirley Sherrod, on Tuesday over racially tinged remarks at an NAACP banquet in Georgia, despite evidence that her remarks were misconstrued and growing calls for USDA to reconsider. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, not the White House, made the decision to ask Sherrod to resign, said USDA spokeswoman Chris Mather.  (AP file photo by Adam Rountree)

Shirley Sherrod says she's perplexed by the uproar over remarks she made 24 years ago about giving short-shrift attention to pleas for assistance by a white farmer. Sherrod, who is black, says her remarks broadcast on a conservative website were taken out of context, and "that's not me."

Sherrod tells NBC's "Today" show she was shocked at being forced to resign by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who later said he was willing to reconsider the move. Asked if she would return if asked, Sherwood said, "I am just not sure how I would be treated there."

[Associated Press; By MARY CLARE JALONICK and BEN EVANS]

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