The CNN camerawoman who had peanuts thrown at her at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla. – and who was told by that attendee that “this is how we feed animals” – has been identified as 34-year-old Alabama native Patricia Carroll.
Car
roll, who is black, told the Maynard Institute, “I hate that it happened, but I’m not surprised at all. This is Florida, and I’m from the Deep South. You come to places like this, you can count the black people on your hand. They see us doing things they don’t think I should do.”
The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education was founded in 1977 to promote diversity in the news media through improved coverage, hiring and business practices.
Carroll stressed that what happened to her at the event could have happened to her anywhere in the country, but she also noted that “there are not that many black women there” at the event.
“I hate that it happened, but I’m not surprised at all,” Carroll said of the incident. “This situation could happen to me at the Democratic convention or standing on the street corner. Racism is a global issue.”
According to the story on the Maynard Institute website, no one took down the names of the two attendees who were ejected following the Aug. 28 incident. Carroll said the head of the delegation she was next to (she doesn’t remember the state) told her that the two persons must have been alternates and not delegates.
Despite the attention the incident – and Carroll herself – garnered after it happened, she expressed hope that the story would just “go away.”
“I’m not interested in talking to any other media about this,” Carroll said.
David Shuster, a former anchor for MSNBC and current anchor for the Current cable network, brought the incident to light in a Twitter post, which read verbatim: “GOP attendee ejected for throwing nuts at African American CNN camera woman + saying ‘This is how we feed animals.’ ”
The Maynard Institute story can be found here: http://mije.org/richardprince/cnn-camerawoman-not-surprised-peanut-throwing#Carroll.
