A woman was filmed at a playground in Minnesota yelling racial slurs to a 5-year-old in a viral video that’s generated an astonishing amount of backlash.
The incident happened at Soldiers Field Memorial Park in Rochester where a white, tattooed mother held her toddler. She was talking to a man who was in the midst of confronting her for calling a young black boy the “N-word.”
Highlights
- A Minnesota mother called a 5-year-old black child the N-word in a viral playground video, sparking national outrage.
- NAACP Rochester launched a crowdfunding campaign raising over $341,000 to support the victimized child and family.
- The woman, Shiloh Hendrix, started her own fundraiser claiming she is a victim of online threats, raising over $593,000.
Now identifying herself as Shiloh Hendrix, she replied in a way that suggested the accusation was not a lie.
A white mom decided to hurl racial slurs at 5 year old toddler after he allegedly tried stealing something from her son's diaper bag
Image credits: GiveSendGo / Shiloh Hendrix
“If that’s what he’s gonna act like,” she responded before repeating the slur to the man and giving him a vulgar gesture.
Stunned, he asked, “So that gives you the right to call the child, 5 years old, a n–ga, the “N-word?”
The question then seemed to set off something in the woman as the two engaged in an intense argument.
Things reportedly got heated in the first place after Hendrix claimed the child had taken a toy from her son’s diaper bag, with the video currently making its rounds on social media after being shared by influencer Michael McWhorter (known as TizzyEnt).
Image credits: NBC / Sharmake Omar
Image credits: NBC / Sharmake Omar
It now has more than 10 million views.
The clip was fairly short, but it has since gained national-wide attention with community members, civil rights organizations, and local officials chiming in to discourage this kind of behavior.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Rochester branch launched a crowdfunding campaign in support of the victimized child and his family, hoping to raise money for legal advocacy and broader social justice efforts as a whole.
Shiloh threw the offensive nickname back at the person recording her
Image credits: NBC / Sharmake Omar
“Help Us Seek Justice for a 5-Year-Old Facing Racial Hate,” it read. As of Sunday morning, it has raised over $341,000 USD.
The president of the civil rights group also described the incident as “deeply disturbing and unacceptable.”
Since then, Rochester Parks and Recreation has acknowledged that one of the videos recorded in their area contained “racial slurs” and gave a reminder to readers that if these kinds of verbal attacks happen again, the non-emergency public safety line is always a good resource.
Image credits: GiveSendGo / Shiloh Hendrix
Rochester Mayor Kim Norton also addressed the footage and made one thing clear: “Not In Our Town! Hate has no home here,” before emphasizing that the community needs to do better.
Along with officials, countless netizens have flocked comment sections to express their rage.
“And this is EXACTLY how racism continues,” one viewer called out. “Holding your child in your arms while berating someone else’s child with slurs. Where’s CPS?”
“The boy took her son’s toy, has she NEVER been around children??” another asked. “Good on that man for confronting her!”
A third stated, “she’s literally ab–sing someone else’s kid. if what she’s doing isn’t a crime, it needs to be.”
“Her poor child — what chance do they have being exposed to that bigotry at such a young age?” someone else sympathized.
The clip quicky went viral, which has garnered millions of views
Image credits: GiveSendGo / Shiloh Hendrix
An Instagrammer wrote, “Can’t wait to see the video of her crying saying she’s so sorry and how she feels threatened…”
While Shiloh did not make a public apology or video, she has certainly made it clear that she now feels unsafe due to the circulating threats online.
The mother has decided to initiate her own crowdfunding campaign, saying that the viral video has created significant stress to her family as the threats continue to come in overwhelming waves.
Image credits: iFightForKids
With a $1 million goal, more than $593,000 has been raised.
“My name is Shiloh and I have been put into a very dire situation,” the fundraiser introduced. “I recently had a kid steal from my 18 month old son’s diaper bag at a park. I called the kid out for what he was.”
It continued, “My family members are being attacked. My eldest child may not be going back to school. Even where I exercise has been exposed.”
She went on to claim her Social Security Number, along with her address and phone number, have been leaked, as well.
“I fear that we must relocate,” Shiloh concluded. “I have two small children who do not deserve this. We have been threatened to the extreme by people online. Anything will help! We cannot, and will not live in fear!”
Those online thought it was disturbing how Shiloh had raised any money at all
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