Patricia Carroll, the black CNN camerawoman who was hit with peanuts and called an "animal" as she covered the Republican National Convention, said in her first interview since the incident that she was "not surprised" it occurred.
"I hate that it happened, but I'm not surprised at all," she told Richard Prince's Journal-isms. "This situation could happen to me at the Democratic convention or standing on the street corner. Racism is a global issue."
Also read: Black CNN Camerawoman Hit With Nuts, Called an 'Animal' at RNC
The convention ejected the two people Tuesday who threw the peanuts and said, "This is what we feed animals."
Carroll, 34, said she alerted other camera operators, producers and security. The head of the delegation where the two had been located told her the men must have been alternates, not delegates, she said. She was not certain of the state.
But she said that as an Alabama native she is not surprised by racism.
"This is Florida, and I'm from the Deep South," she said. "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."
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She also said of the RNC, "There are not that many black women there."
The RNC released a statement after the incident, saying, “Two attendees tonight exhibited deplorable behavior. Their conduct was inexcusable and unacceptable. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated."
Carroll said she was stationed next to Fox News and was not operating her camera at the time of the incident.
The perpetrators "didn't know what I was doing. I happened to be standing there," near a delegation," she told Journal-isms.
"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 said she wanted to thank CNN, which "has been behind me 100 percent."
She also said she wasn't interested in talking about the situation further. "I was hoping this story would go away," she said.