Latest news with #SharmakeOmar
CBS News
23-05-2025
- CBS News
Family of child called racist slurs in Rochester speaks out, NAACP reiterates calls for charges
The family of a child targeted by a racist rant at a Rochester playground says they "no longer feel safe" in their community and are demanding justice. On Thursday, the Rochester NAACP released the statement of the family while also calling for "swift and transparent legal action" due to the incident. "According to video evidence, an adult white female traumatized, chased, and hurled vicious racial slurs at this child in Soldiers Field Park in Rochester, Minnesota and showed no remorse for her actions against a vulnerable child," the NAACP said. The organization says several criminal charges should be considered, including disorderly conduct, bias-motivated assault and harassment. The viral video captures Sharmake Omar confronting a woman about calling a child a racist slur at Roy Sutherland Playground. Omar said he took the video to protect himself and to show people the hate that took place at that park. In the video, the woman admits to calling the boy a racial slur. The woman accused the boy of stealing from her child's diaper bag, according to the description of an online fundraiser she created. She says she started the fundraiser to protect her family. It has raised over $700,000. NAACP Rochester also created an online fundraiser, which it says was meant to support the boy and his family. The organization said there were initial false claims from individuals purporting to be the affected family, but no funding was directed their way. The correct family has since been verified by police and made contact with the NAACP, the organization said. In its statement, the family says the event caused "much pain and many sleepless nights" and demands "justice for our family, the public, and the larger community." Read the full statement below. We are the parents of the young boy who is the victim of racial slurs and assault at Soldier's Field in Rochester, MN, and here is our statement. We thank the Rochester Police Department for their thorough investigation and contacts with our family during this difficult time. We thank the NAACP Rochester, MN Branch, for their steadfast support and advocacy in ensuring our child and family get justice. We thank the NAACP Rochester, MN Branch, for their steadfast support and advocacy in ensuring our child and family get justice. This event caused our family much pain and many sleepless nights. It negatively impacts the well-being of all our family members and the quality of our lives. We no longer feel safe in our home and our community. It impacted us mentally, physically, financially, and emotionally, and still, our children are afraid of going to the public parks and playgrounds. We constantly worried about our surroundings. We all experienced the racial trauma that occurred. It will take years for our family, especially our children, to recover from the painful event and experience. We ask the public and the authorities to protect our identity and privacy. As parents, our priority is to focus on providing our children with the care, safety, and protection they need. And connect them with the resources in the community to address their trauma and pain. We are working with the NAACP Rochester, MN, Branch on resources to address this trauma and pain. We condemn any hate based on race, ethnicity, religion, or color We demand justice for our family, the public, and the larger community. And to hold the perpetrator accountable for her actions. Thank you for your outpouring of support, kindness, and being with us during this difficult time. Thank you The Rochester Police Department has completed an investigation into the video, according to KIMT-TV, and findings have been submitted to the city's attorney's office for review.
CBS News
08-05-2025
- CBS News
Rochester NAACP and community rally in light of recent racial slur caught on video
NCAA and Rochester community gather after a racist attack was caught on video NCAA and Rochester community gather after a racist attack was caught on video NCAA and Rochester community gather after a racist attack was caught on video A disturbing incident at a park in Rochester, Minnesota is getting national attention and drawing criticism from the community. A viral video reignited conversations about racial equity Wednesday as dozens of people packed the Rochester Civic Theatre demanding accountability, justice and real change. The Rochester Branch of the NAACP in collaboration with Barbershop Talk and Rochester Civic Theatre hosted a community townhall. Speakers included faith leaders and elected officials. The video captures Sharmake Omar confronting a woman about calling a child the n-word at Roy Sutherland Playground. Omar said he took the video- to protect himself and to show people the hate that took place at that park. "To see a 5-year-old child called that word was very shocking," Omar said. The woman appears to call Omar the n-word in the video, which was taken late last month, and admits to calling the boy the racial slur. Since that encounter, Omar says he's received death threats had to leave his home after his personal information was leaked. "My life has been turned upside down," Omar said. "It makes me feel good the community is coming together but the damage has been done." Omar says he's frustrated that's happening to him while the woman in the video is profiting. The woman, named Shiloh, accused the boy of stealing from her child's diaper bag, according to the description of an online fundraiser she created. She says she started the fundraiser to protect her family. It has since raised more than $700,000. Omar has since started a fundraiser to help his family relocate and help with the loss of wages because of the death threats he says he has received. The Rochester branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) also created an online fundraiser, which it says was meant to support the boy and his family. That fundraiser, which is no longer active, raised $341,594. "We are demanding accountability demanding charges," said Wale Elegbede, NAACP Rochester President. Crystal Smith was one of the people who packed the theatre Wednesday. She says she wants the city to charge the woman and make things right. "At the end of the day, these kids are our future if we don't show them the right direction, they gonna be in the same seat we sitting in right now," Smith said. The Rochester Police Department has completed an investigation into the video, and findings have been submitted to the city's attorney's office for review.
CBS News
06-05-2025
- CBS News
Woman caught in "n-word" tirade in Rochester raises $600K via GoFundMe, sparking community backlash
A video recorded at a Rochester, Minnesota, playground of a woman repeatedly shouting a racial slur has garnered strong responses from activist groups. The video captures Sharmake Omar confronting a woman about calling his child the n-word at Roy Sutherland Playground, according to CBS affiliate KIMT-TV. The woman appears to call Omar the n-word in the video, which was taken late last month, and admits to calling the boy the racial slur. The woman accused the boy of stealing from her child's diaper bag, according to the description of an online fundraiser created by her. Omar, who spoke over the phone with KIMT-TV, doesn't believe the accusation. The woman says she started the fundraiser to help protect her family in response to the video going viral. The GoFundMe fundraiser, which is no longer active, raised $600,000, according to People Magazine. The Rochester branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) also created a GoFundMe, which it says was meant to support the boy and his family. That fundraiser, which is also closed, raised $341,594. "Public parks should be safe, inclusive spaces for children and families—not sites of hate and trauma," the NAACP said in a written release on Thursday. Omar told KIMT-TV he's been getting death threats since the video went viral, and he is concerned for his safety. Minnesota's Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) is calling on the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement to protect the family and bystanders who are reportedly being targeted online. "It is truly sad that this alleged racist harasser is finding support nationwide for her reported use of the n-word against an innocent child," Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN, said on Monday. The Rochester Police Department has completed an investigation into the video, according to KIMT-TV, and findings have been submitted to the city's attorney's office for review.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MAGA world helps raise over $600,000 after woman hurls racist slur at a child in Minnesota
After being recorded last week apparently admitting that she had hurled a racist slur at a 5-year-old Black child in a park, a white woman in Minnesota is being handsomely rewarded after conservatives turned her into a cause célèbre. The woman is just the latest person to receive a groundswell of financial support via the MAGA-friendly crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo after facing widespread backlash. A GiveSendGo page, which identifies her as Shiloh Hendrix, says she's trying to raise $1 million to deal with what she calls 'great turmoil' in her life following the incident. As of Monday afternoon, the page showed her as having raised more than $670,000. According to an NBC News report, the incident in Rochester, Minnesota, appears to revolve around the woman's claim that the 5-year-old 'took my son's stuff.' A man recording the woman asks whether she thinks the child deserved being called the N-word, and she replies: 'If that's what he's going to act like.' The man, Sharmake Omar, told NBC News that the 5-year-old has autism spectrum disorder and that his parents are from Somalia. On Monday, local police said they have forwarded the findings of their investigation to city attorneys for possible charges. (NBC News reported that attempts to reach the woman in the video and verify her name have been unsuccessful.) Meanwhile, a combination of bigoted conservative influencers and some coverage in right-wing media have helped portray the woman as a sympathetic figure. And she's just one of several people to garner sympathy — and ample donations — through GiveSendGo. (Although the platform is known for its popularity among conservatives, it's not exclusively used by them — other controversial figures not linked to the MAGA movement, such as Luigi Mangione, have had pages made on their behalf.) I previously wrote about pro-insurrection lawyer John Eastman using the platform to raise money to help fight charges related to his role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Eastman has pleaded not guilty.) I've also written about Arizona rancher George Alan Kelly benefiting from GiveSendGo donations after he was accused in the killing of an undocumented immigrant. (Kelly denied any wrongdoing, and a mistrial was declared.) And Daniel Penny, a white man who was accused of killing Jordan Neely, a Black man, on a New York City subway train in 2023, also raked in GiveSendGo donations en route to his acquittal in the case. The idea of doling out money, particularly in an economy as unstable as ours, to support a woman accused of blatant racism may seem absurd to some — and I certainly won't argue against that framing — but the fact that conservatives are rallying around her speaks to the victimhood mindset that's gripping today's Republican Party. This article was originally published on
Express Tribune
04-05-2025
- Express Tribune
Minnesota woman raises $500K after hurling racist slur at black child in viral video
A woman in Rochester, Minnesota, has raised more than $500,000 through a crowdfunding campaign after a viral video appeared to show her using a racial slur against a Black child at a city playground. The incident, filmed by bystander Sharmake Omar, gained widespread attention on social media platforms including TikTok, Twitter, and Reddit. The video shows the woman, identified as Shiloh Hendrix, confronting a young boy whom she accused of taking items from her child's diaper bag. During the exchange, Hendrix is allegedly heard using the n-word in reference to the child. When questioned by Omar, who recorded the incident, Hendrix is seen responding with further inappropriate gestures and appears to repeat the slur. Following the video's release, Hendrix launched a fundraiser on the Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo titled 'Help Me Protect My Family,' claiming she had been subjected to online harassment and needed to relocate. The campaign has drawn backlash, with reports of comments expressing white nationalist and Holocaust-denial sentiments, prompting GiveSendGo to restrict public comments on the page. Jacob Wells, CEO of GiveSendGo, stated that the platform does not endorse the personal views of campaign organisers and restricted comments due to violations of its policies. In response, the Rochester branch of the NAACP initiated a separate fundraiser to support the family of the five-year-old child involved in the incident. The group stated that the child had been called the slur multiple times and criticised the support Hendrix had received. The NAACP's campaign raised over $320,000 by Saturday afternoon. The city of Rochester released a statement describing the footage as 'deeply disturbing' and confirmed that law enforcement is investigating the matter.
