An editorial published in a recent issue of the Carolina Peacemaker contains explosive revelations about an April 15 Tea Party event that the rest of us in the news media appeared to have overlooked.
“If you were brave enough to go over to the plaza, last Thursday, you would have heard words that would turn any decent person’s stomach,” read the piece attributed to the newspaper’s editorial board, comprised of Editor Afrique Kilimanjaro, columnist Bill Howard and copy editor Gabriel Fraire. “Chants of White Power, the N-word, and threats could be heard from the stage and others among the audience. The only thing missing were the white sheets. One person noted, ‘At least I didn’t see any nooses.’”
I was in the midst of the audience working as a reporter for all but the first 5 to 10 minutes. YES! Weekly Art Director Devender Sellars was present for the vast majority of the event taking photographs in a separate area from me. We met up at the end and compared notes. Neither of us recall hearing any chants of “white power” or the N-word. The Tea Party event was the primary scene for my cover story about the movement of the same name. If I had heard such epithets, I don’t mind saying that I would have reported them with relish.
I did hear someone yell, “Kick his ass,” while the police hustled away an anti-Tea Party demonstrator, but I also heard someone else yell, “Let him speak.”
It seems that no one else heard the chants and racial epithets except Peacemaker columnist Bill Howard, not News & Record reporter Dioni Wise, not bloggers Roch Smith Jr., Samuel Spagnola or Joseph Guarino.
Will the Carolina Peacemaker recant its editorial and publish a retraction?
9 comments:
Please note that in addition to the editorial you cite, the Peacemaker also published a news article by Bill Howard in which he "reports" chants of "white power" and other exaggerations and mistakes.
I see that you link to Howard's report too.
I concur with Jordan's assessment of the event. I was also at the there taking photos and reporting on the event, for a majority of the duration. And I do not recall hearing any chant of "White Power."
Howard also reports that there was a "very large number" of people wearing Rush Limbaugh t-shirts and "Rush Limbaugh volunteers" were registering voters. I saw neither of these. Did you guys?
I don't recall seeing people wearing Rush Limbaugh shirts. If I did, I don't know that I would consider it that surprising or noteworthy, notwithstanding that Limbaugh was riffing on the idea of regime change against Obama, which struck me as somewhat inflammatory.
Also reporting on the event with no mention of "white power" chants or the n-word were WFMY, WXII and WGHP.
Have you had any conversation with Peacemaker editor Afrique Kilimanjaro about this? She will not reply to my emails.
I have left one, possibly two, messages for Afrique, and she has not called me back. I consider the Peacemaker's Yasmine Regester to be a solid and professional reporter, and note that her byline is not attached to any of the newspaper's articles about the Tea Party rally.
the peacemaker should never get to be a part of the local press with articles like what they did. Bloggers have more credibility than that crap coming from it's editorial board
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