News / Society

US black family urged to leave town in hateful letter

Sunday, 24 May 2015 1:01 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 24 May 2015 1:02 PM ]

Suffolk County Police.

Police in the United States have assigned a hate crimes unit with the task of probing an anonymous letter that urges a black family to leave town.

Suffolk County police, Long Island, said the letter addresses Darcell Copes, an African-American woman living in a house with her three adult children and five young grandchildren.

"Attn: African-American family, this is coming from Lindenhurst community," reads the note, with all letters capitalized to further emphasize the unfriendly tone.

"Lindenhurst is 84 percent white population you don't belong here," the letter continued. "Please leave Lindenhurst as soon as you can. It will be better for all of us."

The family has been living in their Lindenhurst home for two years and said they had not experienced overt racism in the past since moving there but the letter is proof that racism is alive in 2015, and they are not really surprised by it.

"I went from being fearful, protecting my family, to being totally confused, and wanted to know who and why," Darcell Copes told NBC 4 New York.

"Today, it becomes even deeper; is it someone in the school district, is it the guy at the corner store, is it my neighbor down the street? Where?"

First few lines of the letter sent to the black family.

Darcell’s daughter, Ronica, uploaded the hateful letter to Facebook, where it has been shared more than 3000 times.

Long Island authorities said they are taking the matter very seriously.

Authorities of Babylon Town and Lindenhurst Village released a joint statement on Friday and condemned the letter for its “racist hateful views.”

Despite the hateful act, the family refuses to be intimidated by the letter and told reporters that they will stay at their home.

Darcell also called the writer a ‘coward’ for whom she would be praying.

The letter comes amid widespread tension among African-American communities over racial discrimination in the United States, further intensified by several deadly shootings of unarmed black men by police during the past months.

MTM/AGB

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