firestorm. was there ever a discrimination claim filed against you? never. turning up the heat on the white house. on behalf of the administration, i offer our apologies. reporter: all this attention couldn t be farther from sherrod s humble roots. roots, though, that grounded her in the dangerous, even deadly world, of racial tension. newton, georgia, the deep south. 180 miles south of atlanta. a typical southern farming town. you had to get up before daylight and get food and try to be in the field as the sun was coming up. walking down the streets near her hometown, sherrod remembers working in the cotton fields as a young child.
you had to get up before daylight and get food and try to be in the field as the sun was coming up. walking down the streets near her hometown, sherrod remembers working in the cotton fields as a young child. you had a sack that you put on, and the sack went over this shoulder. you know, and the opening was here. so you are bending over picking cotton and putting it in the sack. and when it gets full, you got to take it over to a burlap sheet and pour it in there and you did that all the day long. reporter: shirley sherrod s family has lived in this area since the 1800s. all farmers, share croppers, who over the years bought more and more of the land they worked. she grew up in a small house with her father and her mother,
daylight and get food and try to be in the field as the sun was coming up. reporter: walking down the streets near her home town, sherrod remembers working in the cotton fields as a young child. you had a sack, you know, that you put on, and the sack went over this shoulder, you know, and the opening was here. so you re bending over picking cotton and putting it in the sack. and when it gets full, then you ve got to taket over to a burlap sheet and pour it on there. and you did that all day long. reporter: shirley sherrod s family has lived in this area since the 1800s, all farmers, sharecroppers over the years who over the years bought more and more of the land they worked. she grew up in a small home with her mother, her father, and her five younger sisters. sandra, one of them, recalled
be in the field as the sun was coming up. walking down the streets near her hometown, sherrod remembers working in the cotton fields as a young child. you had a sack that you put on, and the sack went over this shoulder, you know, and the opening was here. so you re bending over picking cotton and putting it in the sack. and when it gets full, you got to take it over to a burlap sheet and pour it on there. and you did that all day long. reporter: shirley sherrod s family has lived in this area since the 1800s. all farmers, share croppers, who over the years bought more and more of the land they worked. she grew up in a small house with her father and her mother, and her five younger sisters. sandra, one of them, recalls how her father always wanted a boy. he called us boys names.
thrust into a political firestorm. was there ever a discrimination claim filed against you? never. turning up the heat on the white house. on behalf of the administration, i offer our apologies. all this attention couldn t be farther from sherrod s humble roots. roots, though, that grounded her in the dangerous, even deadly world of racial tensions. newton, georgia, the deep south. 180 miles south of atlanta. a typical southern farming town. you had to get up before daylight and get food and try to be in the field as the sun was coming up. walking down the streets near her hometown, sherrod remembers working in the cotton fields as a young child. you had a sack that you put on and the sack went over this