WCSH anchor Jackie Ward is defending herself after sharing a story about an act of racism she witnessed while shopping.
On her facebook page, the Portland, Maine anchor said she saw a mixed-race family shopping when she says, “a man driving by screamed the n-word at them as he sped off. (The family consisted of a black mom, white dad, and from what I can tell a 12-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old son.)”
Yesterday she wrote a follow up to the story, after detractors questioned her motives for the original post.
“Please know that my heart was in the right place in sharing the story and my goal was to encourage kindness, not incite controversy or bring attention to myself. I hope that everyone who reads the post understands that message and is reminded to treat everyone with respect not only today but every day.”
The black woman in the story, Shay Stewart-Bouley, writes a blog called Black Girl in Maine. She wrote about the incident and Ward’s post.
“I am grateful for the anchor’s observations but I am also saddened,” wrote Stewart-Bouley. “Saddened that she was not comfortable enough after seeing the entire exchange to come over and ask ‘Are you okay?’”
One commenter wrote, “Jackie Ward did not even speak to this family, did not even bother to find them out and interview them, did not take a statement, did not check their situation, did not even contact the woman after she found out her identity. There is nothing on her page on FB which shows a dialogue between the two, beyond the black woman’s missive to Jackie. I find that totally irresponsible on the part of a media person. Blech.”
Click here to read Stewart-Bouley’s post on her blog.
[Daily Mail]