The Freedom Writer notified the Washington Post, which contacted the congressional committee that oversees Allen. The committee asked Allen to cancel his speaking engagement. He refused.

The Post, and then The New York Times, published the story. Allen, already embroiled in other controversies, felt the heat. Soon, it was announced that President Bush had accepted Allen's resignation. Exposure of the civil rights chief's bigotry was apparently the straw that broke the camel's back.