Scammers Pose as Family of Black Boy Called the N-Word on Playground In Racist Video to Try to Cash In on $340,000 Raised By NAACP
A local NAACP group in Minnesota said multiple individuals have been posing as the rightful recipients of more than a quarter-million dollars that the organization raised for the family of a Black child who was called racial slurs on a playground.
The NAACP Rochester Branch launched a GoFundMe that drew thousands of donations for a young Black boy who suffered racial abuse at a public park by a woman who has been identified as Shiloh Hendrix.
The encounter was caught on camera by a bystander who caught Hendrix shamelessly using the N-word multiple times after calling the boy the slur. Video of the interaction went viral and swiftly drew backlash.
In response, the NAACP Rochester Branch launched a counter-campaign for the family of the boy who was targeted by Hendrix’s hateful rhetoric. They halted the campaign after it reached more than $340,000 in donations.
The organization released a statement on Monday saying three separate families came forward at different times claiming to be the boy’s family.
“The initial claim came from an individual claiming to represent the family. They requested a direct check from the Rochester Branch of the NAACP. We informed them that funds would only be released through a trust. We determined this individual was not affiliated with the real family,” the group wrote on Facebook.
The group discontinued communication with the first family and organizations supporting their claim after they learned details about a second family who filed a police report. However, the City of Rochester Police Department recently released new evidence discrediting the second family’s claims.
After the third family approached the organization after its town hall on May 7, NAACP members advised them to contact local police. The group, alongside the police department, verified that the third family was the correct victimized family.
The second family also tried to launch a GoFundMe, which was paused after NAACP members contacted the platform about their counterfeit claims. The group stated that it is actively working to reroute funds from the second family’s GoFundMe to the family “that law enforcement now confirms with 100% confidence that they believe to be the correct family.”
Neither the NAACP nor authorities have released the identity of the third family. In an earlier statement, the NAACP said all of the donations will be placed in a trust dedicated to supporting the needs of the impacted child.
“I have seen, touched, hugged this beautiful child and real family,” Walé Elegede, Rochester NAACP president, said in a statement, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune. “We will continue to support this beautiful child and we will continue to demand accountability and justice from the woman that intentionally traumatized, verbally attacked with a racial slur, and caused fear and emotional harm on the young boy.”
The Rochester City Attorney’s Office has still not released a decision on whether it plans to file criminal charges against Hendrix.
Hendirx started a campaign of her own on GiveSendGo to raise funds to relocate her family after her address was leaked online. It has raised more than $770,000 so far.
Critics have slammed GiveSendGo for permitting Hendrix’s fundraiser on its platform. Hendrix updated her donors on May 9, stating that she has started receiving funds from the campaign.
“We can now work on starting a new life,” Hendrix wrote on the fundraising page. “I am so grateful for you all. Amazing things can happen when like minded individuals work together. We have proven just how powerful and great we are! Keep standing up for what is right!”