Boise, Idaho, Mar 18, 2008 / 00:35 am
Planned Parenthood of Idaho officials have apologized after a fundraiser for the organization was caught on tape agreeing with an actor posing as a racist donor who wanted his money to reduce the numbers of black people.
However, the organization also criticized the journalists whose investigation sparked the story, accusing them of using “racist” tactics.
Last summer, writers with The Advocate, a student magazine at the University of California at Los Angeles, called several Planned Parenthood fundraising centers across the country to discover how they would respond to donors with racist motives. In February they released recordings and transcripts of some of the calls.
In a phone conversation with an Idaho Planned Parenthood office, the caller stated, “the less black kids out there, the better.” Autumn Kersey, the office’s Director of Development, laughed nervously and said, “Understandable, understandable. ... Excuse my hesitation, this is the first time I've had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I'm excited and want to make sure I don't leave anything out."