Brown leads Take Back the Night rally

The trial for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson over a decade ago remains one of the most notorious trials ever. Her husband, O.J. Simpson was tried and eventually acquitted.

Last Thursday, Brown Simpson's sister, Tanya Brown, a well-known public speaker on domestic violence, came to the 11th Annual "Take Back the Night" March and Rally.

Brown first addressed the men in attendance. "I don't think you realize the difference you can make in the community. This is the crowd with the most men I have seen so far on my tour of the state." Brown then addressed the issue of the night, "It's not a race issue, not a Nicole issue, not an O.J. issue. It doesn't matter what your background is, if you live and breathe you can be harmed by this disease. It lives in the dorms, houses, apartments. No one wants to talk about it. People need to realize it's a community issue, we need to help those who are suffering."

Brown went on to address her reasons for speaking on the college circuit. "I decided to focus on college because it's a time of experimentation. You're out on your own for the first time. You have all kinds of events you can go to; parties, other events, and I want you to learn where to see the signs and where to draw the line."

Brown explained what is considered a domestic violence thermometer, starting at 62 degrees and boiling over at 108 degrees. She used examples from her own life and excerpts from her sister's diary. "The purpose of this thermometer is to open your eyes to things that people may think are ridiculous, or normal, are really early warning signs for domestic abuse," Brown said. "The main purpose of this is to give you the chance to get out when you see the early signs, because as you get deeper into an abusive relationship it gets harder and harder to get out." She said that the average woman leaves an abusive relationship six to eight times before they leave for good.

Brown said the key was noticing the signs early enough. Once someone is too deep in an abusive relationship there is no way out. "Nicole finally told O.J. she couldn't do his one man dance anymore. Thirty-six hours later, she was dead. If he couldn't have her, nobody could."

If someone would have noticed Nicole's signs earlier, perhaps she could have been saved.

"These are not only signs for women; these are signs for everyone in their personal and professional relationships," said Brown. "The only difference is the people."

She addressed alcohol, because it was believed to be a factor in Nicole's murder.

"Alcohol is not a cause for domestic violence, it only lowers inhibitions. He was drunk, she was drunk. It's not an excuse," Brown said. "Honey it won't happen again is never true, only when proof of completed treatment is present can someone really be cured." She outlined a few accessible treatment facilities, and one in Duluth has a 75 percent success rate in stopping an abusive person's behavior. "If we can all just do one thing per month to help our communities get rid of this problem, we can make a huge difference in destroying this disease."

Surprise visit

The crowd got more than they bargained for when Congressman Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., made a surprise visit to the 11th annual event.

He touched on the personal impact the project has had on him. "Last time I was here, I spent too much time before I spoke looking at the shirts," Pomeroy said. "By the time I started talking I was choked up." He then took the time to commend the Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC) and all those involved in their work. "Largely through the work of this center and others across the state we have made improvements in the involvement of the police and other officers."

Peacemaker award

Christy Hall Gerand, of the CVIC, started the night by reassuring everyone that the CVIC is on the right track and its efforts are not falling to the wayside. "It will take a vision, some would say a ludicrous vision, to end the violence that our children and community face," Hall Gerand said. "We have a long way to go but we can look to the past and see the progress we've made to keep us going." Hall Gerand then presented the third annual Peacemaker award to Shelle Michaels, an advocate for the CVIC. Michaels brought the Vagina Monologues to Grand Forks, raising $6,000 for the CVIC.