On this day, Nov. 28, in 1987, Tawana Brawley is found covered with feces and wrapped in garbage bags in New York, sparking a media controversy. Fifteen-year-old Brawley claimed six white men, including police officers, raped her, and wrote racial epithets on her body.
The allegations caused widespread outrage, and the Rev. Al Sharpton and other advisers mobilized in support of the teenager.
But after an exhaustive investigation, a special state grand jury found that Brawley had made up the story to avoid punishment by her stepfather for being out without permission. The grand jury also implied that Brawley’s advisers exploited her and allowed the case to mushroom into a national story.
Sharpton has since become a candidate for president and is a regular on the talk show circuit.
Scott McCabe
