Gunning for Thompson

What was supposed to be a protest rally Tuesday afternoon in response to allegations of anti-Semitism in the district attorney’s race turned into an ugly diatribe against incumbent Lynne Abraham’s media spokesperson.

Members of several groups including Jews Uniting for Social Justice, African Daughters of Fine Lineage, the Poor People’s Caravan and the African-American Freedom and Reconstruction League organized the rally at Love Park, across from City Hall. About 25 people carried signs saying "Moratorium Now" and "Talmadge for DA." They chanted "Lynne Abraham has got to go!" while one speaker after another denied any anti-Semitic element in their ranks, insisting their beef with Abraham has to do with her policies and politics, not her religion or ancestry.

All was well for about 20 minutes or so, until Lynne Abraham’s media spokesperson Vincent Thompson showed up with campaign manager Joe Grace. Seems Thompson and Grace had scheduled a press conference of their own in Love Park, unaware of the rally protesting their candidate taking place at the same time. They had hoped to highlight Abraham’s continuing efforts on behalf of victims of domestic violence, and have Abraham introduce some of the victims to the press to tell their story. That’s when it turned nasty.

Recognizing Thompson, some members of the protest crowd turned on him like pit bulls, surrounding him and shouting, "Spy!" "Traitor!" "Sellout!" "Uncle Tom!" and a few other choice terms of endearment. Thompson, who is African-American, was visibly shaken by the incident, but offered no comebacks, and walked slowly away. One woman, Jean Thomas, who described herself as a longtime activist from Overbrook, continued to shout taunts at Thompson’s back through the bullhorn she’d been using.

"How much is she paying you to sell out your people, Judas?" Thomas yelled at the retreating Thompson.

After Thompson’s departure, Thomas explained her use of the word Judas. "He [Thompson] is betraying his own people," she said. "She just hired him to put a black face in front of her campaign. He goes back there and tells her exactly what she wants to hear. He’s the worst kind of traitor."

Thompson, a veteran reporter and public relations specialist, was much calmer a few minutes later in the safety of the District Attorney’s Office. He says he changed the location Abraham’s press conference on domestic violence at the last minute to spare the victims who had willingly come forward to speak.

"The issue of domestic violence is too important to have it marred and detracted from by politics," Thompson said. "These brave women have agreed to come forward and speak, and we don’t think it’s fair to have them subjected to campaign mudslinging. They’ve been through enough."

To the African-American protesters who called him names and chased him from the park, Thompson smiled and said, "I have nothing but love for them. I’ll have nothing but love for them after we win on May 15."

—Daryl Gale