NAACP Rochester asks for accountability, justice after viral video of racial slur
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The Rochester Police Department says it completed an investigation into a video posted on social media that showed a woman calling a child a racial slur at a local park last week.
The investigation has been submitted to the Rochester City Attorney's office, which will decide whether or not to charge the woman.
MPR News has a policy to not name suspects until they are charged.
The situation has drawn national attention and outrage. As the video circulated on social media, the woman launched a crowdfunding campaign, saying she needed to move. She has raised more than $600,000 as of Monday morning.
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In response, the Rochester chapter of the NAACP organized its own fundraiser for the family of the child, which raised more than $300,000 before it was closed on Saturday.
“There are hateful groups out there supporting her. That sends a really dangerous message to society,” said Rochester NAACP president Walé Elegbede about the woman’s fundraising efforts.
In a statement shared with MPR News, Rochester Mayor Kim Norton said she was “shocked and sickened” by the video and the fundraising by the woman.
“That a pre-school child was accosted publicly has caused palpable pain throughout our community. As mayor and as a city, we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure we have a community where everyone feels safe, welcome and respected,” Norton said in the statement.
This is the third incident of racial slurs making news in Rochester in the last year or so. Last April, a racial slur was displayed on a pedestrian bridge. And in August, DFL Representative Kim Hicks found racist graffiti spray painted on her home.
“This is not an isolated incident. It's really an increasing trend,” Elegbede told MPR News host Nina Moini. “We are hoping for just accountability and justice.”
Rochester NAACP will hold a town hall called “Our Children are Sacred: Accountability and Justice” in collaboration with Barbershop Talk Services at the Rochester Civic Theatre on Wednesday.
The Rochester City Attorney said in a statement the office will work with “an appropriate sense of urgency” to come to a charging decision but that it is premature to say when a final decision will be made.
Use the audio player above to listen to the conversation between MPR News host Nina Moini and Rochester NAACP president Walé Elegbede.
