PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – The first black Miss Alabama has been suspended from her job at South Florida's PBS station after posting a Facebook video saying the Dallas shooter was a "martyr."
Kalyn Chapman James, who was crowned in 1993, now lives in South Florida and posted the video after going to church Sunday. In the video, James said she is tired of the violence and recent police-involved shootings.
"I can't stop replaying the images of these men being killed in my mind, and my heart weeps," James said. "But I think more than anything, I'm dealing with a bit of guilt because I don't feel sad for the officers that lost their lives, and I know that that's really not my heart."
James went on to say she valued human life and wanted to feel sad for the officers.
"I can't help but feeling like the shooter was a martyr, and I know it's not the right way to feel because nobody deserves to lose their lives," James said. "And I know that those police officers had families and people who loved them and that they didn't deserve to die."
James said she was torn after seeing black men shot and "wasn't surprised" by what the shooter did to the officers.
Her employer, WPBT2 South Florida PBS, released a statement on Twitter. It said, in part, "WPBT2 South Florida PBS does not condone the personal statements made by one of its independent contractors…It placed the contractor on administrative leave while it actively and carefully looks further into the matter."
I'm being threatened, harassed and called awful names. I have a few things to share on this issue that I want everyone...
Posted by Kalyn Chapman James on Tuesday, July 12, 2016
James made another post Tuesday on Facebook further clarifying and apologizing for her video, saying in part, "I do not condone violence against anyone. I am against violence. I would like to see an end to black-on-black crime, white-on-white crime, black-on-white crime, white-on-black crime. ALL killing needs to stop."
