Twenty Years Later, The Tawana Brawley Case Is Revisited

It was the event that should have derailed Al Sharpton's career, but turned out to be sort of a stumble on his path to becoming the American Media's Next Top Black Leader. In November of 1987, a 15-year-old girl from Upstate New York accused six law enforcement officers of raping her, smearing her with feces, and writing racial epithets on her body. As you can imagine, Rev. Al was all over it, until investigators ruled it was a hoax and Brawley had made the whole thing up. There was a huge fallout — a prosecutor implicated in the case won about a half a million dollars from Brawley, her advisors, and even Sharpton himself in a defamation case. But my guess is that most people, even the ones who hate Al Sharpton with a fiery passion, haven't thought about it too much in recent years. Although, I think the Duke rape case might have inspired some Brawley flashbacks.

And now, on the 20th anniversary of the event, the Brawley's parents have reemerged and are maintaining their child was assaulted and deserves justice. Sharpton had no comment, and I don't expect him to. He's already quite selective about jumping to the defense of actual victims, these days. [CNN]

Nov 19, 2007 · posted by Lauren Williams, Stereohyped · Link · 4 Responses

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Tagged: Al Sharpton, Crime & Punishment, Tawana Brawley

Comments (4)

No. 1 · abbey

Stereohyped, did you ever hear of the City Sun — it was an excellent black newspaper, whcih covered the Brawley case. That's the news most in the black communnity followed. Tawana was raped and they proved it. Try to find the archives.

Posted: Nov 19, 2007 at 11:44 am

No. 2 · daria

I haven't seen any evidence that she was raped. From the info out there, it certainly looks like she made it up though I won't go as far as to say she definitely did. I'm just curious as to why prominent civil rights leaders don't attach themselves to other cases to fight for justice. Dunbar Village rape for example. Does it not matter if the perps and victim are both black?

Posted: Nov 19, 2007 at 1:56 pm

No. 3 · solitaire

Tawana LIED, and Sharpton/her lawyers knew it. They ruined the lives of those officers, and have never apologized for it. They should all be ashamed of themselves.

Posted: Nov 19, 2007 at 7:23 pm

No. 4 · blackmistressdiva

Totally agree with solitaire. I don't recall much about the case as I was only 11 at the time that it broke, but I recall how heated black folks seemed to be about it. I think it was one of those cases that snowballed and Shartpon didn't have the courage to tell what he knew (or at least suspected) to be the truth. It was also the case that launched him in to fame - or infamy depending on how you look at it. The spotlight alone could have been one factor in Sharpton et al keeping their mouths shut.

Posted: Nov 19, 2007 at 7:37 pm

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