Kalyn Chapman James, who became the first black Miss Alabama in 1993, recently spoke out about Dallas police shooter Micah Xavier Johnson.
>> UPDATE: First black Miss Alabama suspended from TV station after calling Dallas sniper a 'martyr'
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In a Facebook Live video posted Sunday, James broke down and called Johnson a "martyr."
“I don’t want to feel this way," James wrote in a post that accompanied the video.
“I am dealing with a bit of guilt because I don’t feel sad for the officers that lost their lives and I know that’s not really my heart,” James said in the video.
“I can’t help but feeling like the shooter was a martyr,” she said. “And I know it’s not the right way to feel because nobody deserves to lose their lives, and I know those police officers had families.
“I am so torn up in my heart about seeing these men, these black men, being gunned down in our community. I wasn’t surprised by what the shooter did to those cops, and I think a lot of us feel the same way.”
James, a Mobile, Alabama, native, currently lives in Miami.
In a statement to AL.com, James said:
"My heart and my mind were conflicted because these are difficult and very emotional times for so many people. I went to church to address my feelings and deal with them from a perspective of forgiveness and love. Especially forgiving myself for feeling that way. I regret that any people lost their lives this week and I am saddened by all of the shootings that occurred. But this is not about me. When reading about the killings of those black men, I was mortified by some of the comments about them. Many people were not conflicted at all about those deaths. Some were OK with this. These are raw wounds that are fresh and, while I apologize if I offended anyone, I cannot help the way I feel as I continue to process these events and deal with the flood of emotions that come from witnessing such atrocities – both against citizens and officers of the law. The fact that my opinion was considered newsworthy makes me feel like speaking up was exactly what I should do, because I can voice what so many people are feeling and dealing with and they should know they are not alone. I reiterate that I do not condone violence or killing at all. I offer my deepest condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones this week, including the officers in Dallas."
James later apologized for calling Johnson a "martyr" and told WPMI that she received many threats after posting the video.
“What Micah did was wrong, period,” James told WPMI. “Maybe 'martyr' wasn’t the right word, but it was what came to mind at that time.”
Johnson killed five Dallas police officers and wounded seven others Thursday night.
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