When Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered on June 12, 1994, her family took action to spread awareness of domestic violence around the country. Her sister, Denise Brown, has taken her awareness message nationwide.
Brown will speak in Emporia at two events — 7:30 p.m. April 27 at the Granada Theater and 10 a.m. April 28 at Emporia High School. In conjunction with her public appearance on April 27, the Emporia High School thespians will present the play, “Don’t u Love me?” which focuses on teen dating violence and healthy relationship choices that teens make.
Tickets for the program cost $15 and are on sale at the Sweet Granada, 805 Commercial St., Granada Coffee Co., 809 Commercial St., the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce Office, 719 Commercial St., and the SOS office, in the lower level of 701 Merchant St.
Brown said she was asked to speak in Columbia, Mo., 14 years ago at a Women Helping Women conference. From there, people started asking her to speak and it snowballed to what it is today.
“I made a promise to Nicole so that she did not die in vain, and to keep this promise I’ve dedicated all my energies to making our communities safer through education and awareness, sharing programs that work, helping pass legislation, and challenging us all to stand up for what is right. I’ve learned two things on my continuing journey, one that I’m not alone in my loss, and two that I’m not alone in my determination to make sure that the epidemic of violence does not go unanswered. I do this in Nicole’s name,” Brown said on www.denisebrown.com.
Brown answered questions during a telephone interview Wednesday morning.
Q Did you do any public speaking before this?
A No, I used to ditch school if I had to give an oral book report. I used to panic.
I used to say “Denise, this is not a grade, this is not about you, it’s about helping other people.” I always say to people “just remember it’s not about you, it’s not a grade for you. It’s about helping other people.” Especially with survivors. They give them hope. They give them that light at the end of the tunnel. Their stories help. They survived it. They lived it.
Q How many speaking engagements do you do in a year on average?
A It varies. Sometimes I can do 100. Sometimes I can do 20. It just depends on the cycle. Right now with the economy, it’s hard to speak. But I’m doing it. ... People like Emporia. They are very supportive. They are getting it together. They are doing it. You’d think if Emporia, Kan., can do it, other communities can do it. Other communities can learn from you guys. I’d like to see some uniformity of domestic violence (education).
Q What changes are you seeing involving domestic-violence awareness?
A The major change is DV Awareness Month is being changed to May. They are calling it a test market. I am calling it a change. 2010 will be the first official year of the actual change, but we are moving toward that now. Doing your event (near) May regardless of even knowing the event is coming, I think that is a huge draw for you as well. Making people aware of that.
I always say, domestic violence awareness should be every single day, if we’re going to have the purple (color for domestic violence awareness) ribbon shine and have purple out there. Now it’s our time to shine. Purple can shine. We can have our purple in May.
Q Were there any signs that you remember about the domestic violence that your sister suffered?
A (Nicole) left notes and diaries. That’s how we found out and (led to) starting the foundation and we started speaking. I went to my mom and said “What was this about?” We didn’t know DV was a dirty little secret. We didn’t live that life. It’s that dirty little secret that they just didn’t want to talk about.
Looking back, yeah, I see it. I hear it, the verbal abuse, the emotional stuff, the psychological. I even found Nicole’s picture when there was a black eye. She said the studio painted a black eye on her...I said, ‘Wow, it looks so real.’
There are always these excuses, and that’s the cycle of violence — the control and the verbal, the put-downs, the honeymoon where they say, “Oh baby it’s never going to happen again. I’m so sorry.”
... I even go one step further, if they ever threaten to kill you, eventually one day they will. If you’re in a situation like that, you need to get help. You need to get out.
Q What groups do you normally reach out to, or does it run the gamut?
A Anybody that asks, I speak one way to the kids and speak another way to the ... adults. I talk about corporate involvement, I talk about volunteering for the organization, raising money and all of these different programs that I have learned about in the country so that people can start utilizing these programs that are great.
I like to let people know about different things that groups are doing and organizations are doing.
Q What improvements still need to be made?
A One needs to be uniformity in the the movement. That is key to any kind of success. That’s one thing that is totally lacking. I think that we need to have a national campaign.
There needs to be a larger scale type of a campaign. I think a national organization needs to be involved with down to these local shelters. I think that the funding is cut with economic times that they need to step up to the plate....
I think that they need to look at the work that the shelters are doing and doing a separate campaign for them. They need to be recognized. They need to get money for that. They need to get help for that. The greatest things is that now you’ll be able to find funding for events. I think it’s a win-win way all around changing DV month for shelters....
I think that you (shouldn’t) stop doing your events in October. If you’re doing them in October, don’t stop. Do them every single month if you can. Keep the message out in the forefront.
Q Nationwide, are we seeing a decline or increase in domestic violence?
A Right now, with the economy the way it is, the calls are increasing. People are losing their jobs and domestic violence is on the rise. You can’t pay your bills and stress level is through the roof. You lose your job, your house. You lose everything. ... The foundation is getting a lot of calls. ... I would imagine that all the shelters are finding an increase in calls due to DV because of the economic times.
Q You started a foundation back in 1994. How is that going?
A The Nicole Brown Foundation started in 1994. It’s going great. We just got a new executive director. She’s bringing a whole new perspective to the issue of DV. It’s like a fresh perspective. It’s great.
There’re other things that I’m doing, also, and that’s for the economic times.
EZMod123.com (is about) doing easy loan modification. People who are losing their homes. It’s everything you need to do a self-loan modification. Everything is about education. DV (can) start because of loss of homes.
We do K-6 programs, teen programs. The high school students can teach the elementary students and teach that hands are not for hitting and words are not for hurting. You need to reach enough people to create a ripple effect so everybody can be educated.
Q When O.J. Simpson was sentenced this last time (for robbery charges in Las Vegas), were you there?
A We sent out a press release on that. We don’t even comment on that. That is like a non-issue. It has nothing to do with us. We do not comment on him because there’s a bigger issue out here and that’s domestic violence.
Locally, if you need help or resources regarding domestic violence call 342-1870 or (800) 825-1295. The 24-hour domestic violence hotline is (800) 799-SAFE (7233).
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Posted by sosinc (anonymous) on March 26, 2009 at 4:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
SOS is extremely pleased to be bringing Denise Brown to Emporia. We have an amazing task force of community members who have worked diligently to bring a national speaker to our community with the support of many area businesses and individuals. I hope everyone can come out and hear the message that Denise brings about families living with domestic abuse.
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