On Tuesday night, Cornell Brooks, president of the NAACP, appeared on CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront to discuss the shooting death of Michael Brown and dismissed calls for violence by a member of Michael Brown’s immediate family as inciting violence.
Burnett played video of Brown’s stepfather, Louis Head, telling a crowd of protestors to “burn this bi*** down” after the grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson and asked Brooks if “that served as a call for violence?” Rather than condemn Brown’s stepfather’s highly charged rhetoric, the president of the NAACP proclaimed “I don't think that was a call for violence or it caused violence.”
After the CNN host made sure to mention that Michael Brown’s stepfather “was in a lot of pain, he was in the moment” Cornell Brooks continued to deflect away from Michael Brown’s stepfather’s comments:
The fact of the matter is, a single act of violence set this tragic set of consequences into motion. That being the shooting of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson. That's what, in fact, caused all of this. And one of the ways that we can respond to this tragedy is to focus anger and turn anger into action and reform the criminal justice system. We can do no less… Think about it this way. Michael Brown’s mother lost her son. Her use of an obscenity should not be a reason for us to condemn her humanity in her grief.
Erin Burnett never once challenged the NAACP president’s defense of Louis Head and instead allowed him to go on a long rant excusing the supposed call for violence as insignificant in the larger debate surrounding the shooting death of Michael Brown.
See relevant transcript below.
CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront
November 25, 2014
ERIN BURNETT: And demonstrations have furthered civil rights in this country in an incredible way. Riots obviously have not. And as I understand the distinction and clearly what you are saying. I want to play this, though. A video captured by The New York Times. Michael Brown's mother, Leslie McSpadden, breaking down. She's responding to the announcement that the man who killed her son would not be indicted. After consoling his wife, Michael Brown's stepfather, Louis Head, turns to the crowd and I want to play for you what he said.
LOUIS HEAD: Burn this [ bleep ] Down! Burn this [ bleep ] Down! Burn this [ bleep ] Down! Burn this [ bleep ] Down!
BURNETT: Obviously, burn this expletive down, burn this expletive down. Look, he was in a lot of pain, he was in the moment, but do you think that served as a call to violence?
CORNELL BROOKS: No, I don't think that that was a call for violence or it caused violence. The fact of the matter is, a single act of violence set this tragic set of consequences into motion. That being the shooting of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson. That's what, in fact, caused all of this. And one of the ways that we can respond to this tragedy is to focus anger and turn anger into action and reform the criminal justice system. We can do no less.
BURNETT: All right.
BROOKS: Think about it this way. Michael Brown’s mother lost her son. Her use of an obscenity should not be a reason for us to condemn her humanity in her grief.
BURNETT: All right, Cornell, thank you very much for your time tonight.
