New York volunteer Firefighter Kenneth Walker received a threatening letter on Monday telling him to resign form the North Tonawanda fire department or “regret it.” The short letter made clear it was mean to be read as a hate-filled racist attack. Walker who has been volunteering for two years is the only black volunteer at the department. He found the threatening letter in his mailbox at home.
On Wednesday, only two days later, Walker’s home was burned down while the family was out. No one hurt physically, but they lost their two cats and all of their possessions. The fear and psychological damage cannot be underestimated. Here is the WGRZ news video.
Fire Chief Joseph Sikora said this is something he never thought he would ever have to deal with. He spoke highly of Walker and said the department plans to do everything they can help. The The Gratwick Hose Fire Company is holding a donation drive that will benefit Walker and his family on Sunday, August 7, 2016 from 10am-2pm at the Gratwick Hose Fire Company at 110 Ward Road in North Tonawanda.
The family is in need of furniture, household items, clothing, toiletries, food and toys for their two children.
Here are clothing sizes for the family.
- Kenneth (Dad)- Size 34-36 pants, large tops
- Amanda (Mom)- Size 30-32 pants, 5X tops
- Harmoni (4-year-old girl) size 6X clothing
- Chloe (5-month old girl)- 9-12 month clothing.. size 3-4 diapers.
Racism has existed in America for centuries, but there is no doubt that we are seeing a new surge ever since Republican nominee Donald Trump began his campaign in 2015. The candidate seems to legitimize hatred, racism, mysogyny, and xenophobia… He brings out the darkest of souls while being praised by the likes of KKK and white supremacists.
Two weeks ago a black woman in Indiana woke up to a backyard filled racist messages spray painted all over her property, “Go N*gger,” ‘Go B*tch” and her car was vandalized to the point of being unusable. Two days prior she said someone tried to run her off the road. She was terrified. These are domestic terrorist attacks.
Below are some steps you can take if you have been a victim of a hate crime.
- Get medical help, if necessary.
- Write down any and all of the details of the crime as soon as possible after the incident. Include the perpetrator[s] gender, age, height, race, weight, clothes and other distinguishing characteristics. If any threats or biased comments were made (such as anti-gay epithets), include them in the report.
- File reports.
- File a police report
- Get the responding officer’s name and badge number
- Make sure the officer files an incident report form and assigns a case number. If a police report is not taken at the time of your report, go to the police station and ask for one. Always get your own copy, even of the preliminary report.
- If you believe the incident was bias-motivated, urge the officer to check the “hate/bias-motivation” or “hate crime/incident” box on the police report.
- File a report with the FBI
- Notify your local LGBTQ community organization about the incident
- Find support.
No one in America should be threatened out of town — out of their job, with racism and violence. No one should fear for their own lives and the lives of their families at home. Sadly, if Trump wins in November, we can almost count on more attacks. Because that’s how hatred rolls.
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