Craig Ranch resident Tracey Carver, now represented by Celebrity Attorney Gloria Alred, has come forward along with her husband's best black friend AC to argue that the claims that she made racist statements which sparked the fight and police being called to a pool party are merely "false rumors" and "lies".
Alred: I've been a Civil Rights Lawyer for four decades, and have been involved in the Civil Rights movement for almost 50 years, fighting for racial and gender equality for all minorities. I've agreed to represent Tracey and her family because the cause of Civil Rights takes a serious set-back when innocent individuals are wrongly accused of making racist statements based on false rumors and find themselves and their children being threatened that they will be raped and murdered. Polarization of the races rather than progress towards equality is the result of false rumors. Lies must be stopped, particular in the case of Tracey Carver who has lived her values in her deeds. Tracey and her family need to be able to go home, and live, work and go to school in safety. Those who have lied about Tracey owe her an apology, and it is long overdue for them to tell the truth about what occurred on June 15th, in Mckinney Texas.
Tracey: About 5pm a bar-b-que along with a DJ was being setup directly next to the pool, but outside the pool gate. Approximately 5:30 pm the people, non-residents, who were attending the bar-b-que began entering the gated pool by the dozens. Our community has a rule that residents may only bring two guests to the pool, other than that the pool is not open to the public. By the time our Security Officer had arrived for his shift our pool had been taken over by unruly teenagers and young adults. When asked to provide key-cards, many of the group of non-residents became irate at the Security Guard and the residents at the pool stating that they were being asked to leave because of the color of their skin. This is not true because all races were being asked to provide a key-card, including myself. At that time dozens of non-residents began jumping the fence into the pool area. My decision was to gather my children and my grandchild to avoid any issues in the light of what appeared to be unfolding very rapidly. People whom I did not know where shouting at us through the gate as we were trying to exit.
They were shouting "Go home, bye bye black haters".
It was nearly impossible to exit the gate because it was lined three rows deep with unruly, disrespectful, violent teens. Once I did get out a teen was shouting racists slurs at me and my friend stating this was a public pool. In response my friend stated "this is not a public pool, people pay community dues to use this pool." This is not about black and white, this is about having a card-key and everyone is able to bring in two guests regardless of race.
A young woman, over the age of 18, began charging down the stairs at my friend. My friend did not make any motion toward the young woman. My friends hair was grabbed an she was pulled to the middle of the street, my kids were screaming and traumatized. I walked out to defuse the fight and did just that. I did not beat anyone, nor did I use racial slurs of any kind. I was trying to separate my friend from the person that was pulling her hair. Once I returned to my car a large red icee, hit me in the back and splashed my 11-year-old who was sitting in the car. Accusations that I am a racist could not be further from the person who I truly am. I am woman of god, and a humanitarian in every sense of the word. I have countless supporters of all ethnic backgrounds who will stand up for my character. The fact that I've had to relocate my family for their safety has made me physical ill. I have been targeted and forced to suffer unspeakable threats against myself, my children and grandchildren.
I pray that something good comes from this and that people will stop buying into the horrific lies that are being spread by social media by the moment.
I have been employed for 17 years and have managed many people of all races and genders. They have all been treated equally with respect loyalty and encouragement. Countless African-American friends have reached out to me over the past week saying they would attest to exactly that. I want the truth to come out and the lies and threats to stop.
I will contrast and compare what Tracey has said to others over the flip. Then we shall discuss.
Here is the video from which Tracey was identified, she says she herself is not a direct party to the altercation as she is standing next to "Kate" and Tatyana who was the host of the pool party, while they fight.
Tracey claims that she didn't say anything racist, that she didn't attack anyone and frankly this tape doesn't dispute (most of) those claims. When the tape starts the fight is already in progress, Tracey is not directly participating - she's standing next to the fight but isn't in the fight, or so she claims. She says she's only trying to "separate her friend from the person pulling her hair", and maybe that's true in her mind but the fact is that her friend is also pulling the other persons hair.
But if you look closely the fact is that Tracey isn't a total bystander as she claims in the Alred video, she can be clearly seen throwing punches at the back of the head of the person fighting with her friend. Now they're fairly weak punches - but they are punches.
It's interesting to note that Tracey doesn't admit that she threw punches. It's also interesting that she doesn't describe any details of any conversation that took place other than people yelling at them from beyond the fence "Go home, bye bye black haters", but nothing else. According to her there wasn't any conversation at all, just that the "over 18 year old came charging down the steps at her friend" and then all hell breaks lose.
It's very strange that she has no details and no explanation of why this girl is "attacking" her friend. It just happened right out of the blue. She just charged, like an enraged Michael Brown-Bull in a china shop. Nothing provoked her. Nobody said anything to her. Nobody touched her, just "Boom" here she comes...
To hear her tell it they were just minding they own business, going they own way peacefully, not bothering a fly until crazy girl shows up and start hair yanking.
Hmmm... why does that story sound familiar?
Here's what Tatyana said.
Tatyana doesn't accuse Tracey of saying anything racist. She doesn't identify Tracey specifically, it's the other woman Tracey's friend who they call "Kate" that they are talking about and another man, who has since been identified as Sean Toon the man who called 9-1-1. Unlike Tracey, Tatyana describes the details of the conversation, what she said, what the other woman and Sean said, "You need to go back to Section 8 Housing" and also what the other girl, Grace, who was there said in sticking up for the kids.
According to Tatyana, it was Grace - who is also white - who accused Sean and Tracey's friend of racism. Grace has confirmed nearly every element of what Tatyana has said in more than one interview, including this one with Chris Hayes.
Grace: One of the parent said a very racial comment, racial slur, and we felt the need to step in and say something. That broke out into a a lady getting physical and violent and that's when the cops were called.
Chris: Grace, what do you say to those women who you say were making racial slurs?
Grace: It was actually an older man [who she later identified to Buzzfeed as our buddy Sean Toon] I just wanted to know his thought process, you should never be that hateful to anyone, and especially people half your age. The two women got mad because were being disrespectful to our elders, but if they really were our elders why weren't they acting like it?
Chris: What did the man say that facilitated this?
Grace: We were trying to get some kids in the pool and he said to "go back to Section 8 Housing where you belong and get out of my neighborhood"
So again, Grace doesn't say that the women said anything racist, it was the man, but she like Tatyana, mentions specifically what was said word-for-word and she
exactly matches Tatyana.
Let's go to another witness, Jahda Bakari, who was at the party and ultimately filmed the confrontation with Dejarria and Cpl Casebolt from the opposite side of Brandon Brooks. At the 5:44 mark after playing all of Brandon's video Lawrence O'Donnell begins asking questions.
Jahda talks about how the Security Guard kept coming over to their group demanding pool passes and they complained to him that he was only asking that of the black kids, but that after they complained he started asking white people and kids for their passes too. This confirms Tracey's claim that black kids were complaining about being singled out, because they were, but also that ultimately the Security guy didn't keep that up entirely. This right here is where the tension started.
Jahda: I've lived in Craig Ranch for a few years and we've never been told that you could only have 2 guest per pool pass, so no one really believed the worker when he said that. After the first time he came back to use and began talking to us about "horse-playing" and I said "do you see those white kids horse playing?" and he continued to ignore that and continued talking to us about horse playing and that's when started getting kind of upset as he was talking to us about the pool passes and everything. Then we asked him about how come he didn't ask anyone else at the pool about their passes, because they were caucasians, and that's when he went around and asked everyone about their passes. And that's like kind of how it all began.
Then later on during the party, a group of black young men were at the gate of the pool and were trying to get let in but we didn't know who they were, and we weren't with them at the party and everything, so we didn't let them in we told no one to let them in.
They went to the side of the pool and started hopping the fence and that's when some of the parents started complaining about it, and we told them "we weren't even with them" but they just assumed that we were. The parents that were complaining that's when they called the cops.
Jadha's description matches much of Tracey's but from the other point of view. Yes, some kids hopped the fence, but it doesn't seem like it was "dozens and dozens" what I've heard described even by those who have gone of Fox to complain about the kids was that it was about
seven of them.
Here's an interview with Brandon Brooks who shot the original video in which he also confirms how the Security Guard was very overbearing and demanding of pool passes - even from him and he's white - and how the entire situation seemed racial in his opinion as well even before the cops showed up.
There seem to be a lot of assumptions going around coming mostly from the parents.
Both black kids and white kids agree that things were racially biased in actions and in words, yet somehow Tracey doesn't notice any of this?
Tracey even in her statement today doesn't seem to know that the person who fought with her friend was the girl who was hosting the bar-b-que in the first place, Tatyana. She keeps saying they "weren't residents", but the fact of the matter is that nearly all of them were residents and had pool passes", that's why the Security Guard didn't kick them out. Tatyana had a pass. Brandon and his friends had passes. Jahda had a pass. Yet Tracey is still talking to this day like they were "outsiders". They weren't.
She doesn't seem to be able to admit that Sean Toon was there and said anything to the kids that was either racist or about "go back to your Section 8 housing" - which he said to someone who lived at Craig Ranch. She doesn't admit that it was a white girl, Grace, who accused Sean - not her Sean - of being a racist.
She doesn't admit to "Kate" berating Grace or slapping Tatyana as she describes which is what starts the fight. She doesn't admit to hitting Tatyana herself which she clearly did.
The bottom line is that no one has accused Tracey of Racism of any kind other than the fact she seems completely blind to it when it's happening right in front of her. I can't speak for everyone on twitter who may have gotten Tracey confused with Kate, or with things that everyone notes were said by Sean Toon, but if she and Alred are demanding that "people stop lying" about Tracey they're going to have a hard time finding those people.
No, it's not fair that Tracey and her family have been threatened and traumatized by all of this, so much so that they've had to flee to California - that much is obvious. I'm more than happy to say "I'm sorry" for everything she's going though, particularly because of things she didn't do and she didn't say, not that I can really find any individuals who were actually at the party who said she did or said anything highly egregious only that she was with a couple people who did. She didn't call the cops, apparently Sean and Shannon Toon did. She didn't utter any racial slurs, that was apparently Sean also. She didn't start the fight, that was "Kate".
She and her kids don't deserve death threats or rape threats. Period. Stop. End of Line.
But for her to complain that she was hit with an Icee?
An Icee. Really?
You mean to tell me she has not seen what happened to Dejarria Becton later and she has no empathy for that girl having her head being shoved into the ground, or having a 200 lbs grown man wearing body armor shove his knee into her back and across the back of her neck? You don't think that perhaps stings a bit more than an Icee? You mean she didn't see Cpl Casebolt pull his gun on Adrian Martin when he was just trying to help Dejarria and assure her that he would call her mom for her as she was crying out in panic and in pain?
Well, never mind the gun in a kids face as he's backing away she got hit with an Icee in the back so we must call out the National Guard!
That lack of perspective for such a "humanitarian" woman is astounding.
She may be stating exactly what she believes to be the truth. But if she's going to continue to claim that the only racists in that pool were the black kids who complained about racism, she is in desperate need of a wake-up call. If we are to stack what she's claiming versus what all of these kids have said, and there's no evidence that they have heard or seen each others statements first, they all tell a fairly consistent, believable and complete picture of what happened, even including admitting that there were some black kids who "hopped the fence" and that's why (apparently Shannon Toon) called the police in the first place, yet she doesn't admit any wrong-doing on her part, or on the part of anyone on her side of the dispute anywhere or in any fashion?
That's troubling.
Because if what Tracey's story is right, then Tatyana, Grace, Jahda and Brandon are all lying - the video is lying - and they've magically been doing it in exactly the same way since the first day, even coming from different positions in the party.
Or am I wrong? Discuss.
Vyan
2:52 PM PT: Best Black Friend AC goes on the say at the end of the video that not only has he not witnessed Tracey say or do anything Racist in the 17 years he's known her and her husband or the 2 1/2 years he's been living in her house, because why might he say anything to defend his landlord, but that he's never seen her "allow" someone to behave in a racist manner in her presence - at least that he's seen.
I myself would love to hear an example of how Tracey has witnessed racism in his presence and called it out in the same way that Grace did in this situation. Somehow I'm not expecting that story to be told.
2:58 PM PT: At one point Tracey says this is not about "the color on someone skin" which tells me she doesn't know the first thing about what racism is, because it's not about skin color, it's about perception, presumption, culture and heritage.