The CNN camerawoman who was pelted with peanuts by attendees at the Republican National Convention said that the incident was disheartening, and that it should serve as a wake-up call to black people.
"I hate that it happened, but I'm not surprised at all," Patricia Carroll said to Journal-isms. "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."
On Tuesday, two attendees were removed from the arena after they threw peanuts at Carroll, while saying to her, "This is how we feed the animals."
The convention's organizers condemned the incident, saying, "Two attendees tonight exhibited deplorable behavior. Their conduct was inexcusable and unacceptable. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated."
The incident was first made public by Current TV's David Shuster in a tweet Tuesday night.
Carroll went on:
"I can't change these people's hearts and minds," Carroll added. "No, it doesn't feel good. But I know who I am. I'm a proud black woman. A lot of black people are upset. This should be a wake-up call to black people. ... People were living in euphoria for a while. People think we're gone further than we have."
She noted that there weren't many black women at the convention. The whiteness of the Republican convention has been noted by many commentators, and has spawned the facetious Twitter hashtag #negrospotting.
Michael Steele, the former chair of the Republican National Committee, told The Huffington Post on Thursday that in 2008, there were only 36 black delegates of the 2,000 in attendance, and that the GOP needed to do a better job of welcoming people of color.
"The proof is in the numbers," Steele said.
Correction: A previous version of this story identified David Shuster as an anchor for CNN. Shuster is an anchor for Current TV.
Gene Demby covers politics for Huffington Post BlackVoices. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter.