TAMPA -- The CNN African-American camerawoman who was pelted by peanuts at the Republican Convention -- and told, "this is how we feed animals" -- says it felt like a racial attack.

"I hate that it happened, but I'm not surprised at all," said CNN's Patricia Carroll to Journal-isms, a website of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.

Republican officials have apologized for the incident.

"This situation could happen to me at the Democratic convention or standing on the street corner," Carroll said. "Racism is a global issue."

Carroll said: "I can't change these people's hearts and minds. No, it doesn't feel good. But I know who I am. I'm a proud black woman. A lot of black people are upset. This should be a wake-up call to black people. ... People were living in euphoria for a while. People think we're gone further than we have."

More from the Journal-isms interview: