PROBLEMATIC STATEMENTS AND ANGRY RESPONSES STATEMENTS MADE BY OR ATTRIBUTED
TO TAMMY BRUCE
-
In a chaotic Nightline segment Oct. 4, the day after the verdict, transcripts
show Bruce said, "What we need to teach our children is ... not about racism,
but is about violence against women."
-
In an Oct. 11 statement carried by wire services and major TV networks,
Bruce said her message to O.J. Simpson was, "You are not welcome here,
you are not welcome in this country, you are not welcome on our airwaves,
you are not welcome in our culture."
-
In an Oct. 18 profile in the L.A. Times, Bruce was quoted as saying that
her domestic violence message provided "a needed break from all that talk
of racism."
-
In a Nov. 17 story the Associated Press reported that, in refusing to appear
on a TV talk show devoted to the Simpson case, Bruce told a producer she
did not want to "argue with a bunch of Black women" and made other inflammatory
comments that Bruce told the AP were inaccurate or taken out of context.
RESPONSES
-
Leading national civil rights leaders contacted NOW leaders expressing
anger and betrayal about how these statements were being received by people
of color.
-
Local coalition partners, particularly in the fight against the anti-affirmative
action ballot measure in California, took NOW to task publicly for the
statements.
-
Chapters in rural areas of one state reported receiving calls from Aryan
Nation groups saying, "Way to go!"
-
An African American state legislator who had been a strong ally refused
to attend a NOW event because it might jeopardize her bid for Congress.
-
One regional coordinator said all six states in her area received complaints
that NOW was racist over the statements.
-
One state leader said the coordinator of their hotline quit over the deluge
of hostile phone calls protesting the statements.
-
A chapter leader in a major city diffused a planned picket of NOW's offices
over the statements.
Return to NOW Home Page / Join
NOW / Send NOW Mail