Charles Sherrod
Encyclopedia
Charles Sherrod was a key member and organizer of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. He became the first SNCC field secretary and SNCC director of southwest Georgia. His leadership there led to the Albany Movement
. He also participated in the Selma Voting Rights Movement
and in many other arenas of the '60s movement era.
A supporter of racial integration
, he recruited white as well as black members to assist with voter registration efforts. In 1967 he left the SNCC after recently-elected chairman Stokely Carmichael
expelled white members. He moved north, to New York City, where he received his master's degree in sacred theology from the Union Theological Seminary
. He then returned home to direct the Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education. In 1969, Sherrod, his wife Shirley, and some other members of the Albany Movement helped pioneer the land trust
movement in the U.S., co-founding New Communities
, a collective farm
in Southwest Georgia
modeled on kibbutzim in Israel. He served as an elected member of the Albany City Council from 1976 to 1990.
A former chaplain at the Georgia State Prison in Homerville, the Rev. Sherrod teaches at Albany State University
. He is married to former U.S. Department of Agriculture
official Shirley Sherrod
.
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ' was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It emerged from a series of student meetings led by Ella Baker held at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina in April 1960...
during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. He became the first SNCC field secretary and SNCC director of southwest Georgia. His leadership there led to the Albany Movement
Albany Movement
The Albany Movement was a desegregation coalition formed in Albany, Georgia, on November 17, 1961. Local activists, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee , and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People were all involved in the movement. The movement was led by William...
. He also participated in the Selma Voting Rights Movement
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
and in many other arenas of the '60s movement era.
A supporter of racial integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
, he recruited white as well as black members to assist with voter registration efforts. In 1967 he left the SNCC after recently-elected chairman Stokely Carmichael
Stokely Carmichael
Kwame Ture , also known as Stokely Carmichael, was a Trinidadian-American black activist active in the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. He rose to prominence first as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later as the "Honorary Prime Minister" of the Black Panther Party...
expelled white members. He moved north, to New York City, where he received his master's degree in sacred theology from the Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
. He then returned home to direct the Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education. In 1969, Sherrod, his wife Shirley, and some other members of the Albany Movement helped pioneer the land trust
Land trust
There are two distinct definitions of a land trust:* a private, nonprofit organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation easement acquisition, or by its stewardship of such land or easements; or* an agreement...
movement in the U.S., co-founding New Communities
New Communities
New Communities was a land trust and farm collective owned and operated by approximately a dozen black farm farmers 1969 – 1985. Once one of the largest-acreage African American-owned properties in the United States, it was situated in Southwest Georgia....
, a collective farm
Collective farming
Collective farming and communal farming are types of agricultural production in which the holdings of several farmers are run as a joint enterprise...
in Southwest Georgia
Southwest Georgia
Southwest Georgia is a thirteen-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia. A common acronym used is SOWEGA.The largest city is Albany. Counties include Baker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Terrell, Thomas, and Worth.In 1995, 25% of the...
modeled on kibbutzim in Israel. He served as an elected member of the Albany City Council from 1976 to 1990.
A former chaplain at the Georgia State Prison in Homerville, the Rev. Sherrod teaches at Albany State University
Albany State University
Albany State University is a four-year, state-supported, historically black university located in Albany, Georgia, United States. It is one of three HBCU's in the University System of Georgia.-History:-Establishment:...
. He is married to former U.S. Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
official Shirley Sherrod
Resignation of Shirley Sherrod
On July 19, 2010, Shirley Sherrod was forced to resign from her appointed position as Georgia State Director of Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture because of video excerpts from her address to a March 2010 NAACP event, which the blogger Andrew Breitbart had posted on...
.
See also
- Timeline of the African-American Civil Rights Movement
- List of civil rights leaders
External links
- "Sherrod, Charles", Black Past
- "The civil rights heroism of Charles Sherrod", Salon, July 22, 2010
- "Sherrods Tell Black Press Where America Must Go From Here", Black Voice News, July 26, 2010