Woman Raises $600,000 Online After Yelling Racist Slur About Child on Playground

A Minnesota woman yelling racial slurs about a child at a playground in Rochester, New York, has raised over $600,000 in a crowdfunding campaign after a video of the incident went viral.

The video shows a white woman holding a small child and accusing another child of taking her son’s “stuff” and becoming verbally aggressive. While she doesn’t directly call the child the N-word in the video circulating online, she is heard saying the slur three times to Sharmake Omar, the man who confronted her.

Omar, who says he has a child of his own on the spectrum, told KTTC he felt compelled to act after witnessing the racist incident directed at a 5-year-old African American boy with special needs.

“If it was my child, I would want somebody else to stand up for him,” Omar told the news station.

“If nobody else is going to do it, I’m going to have to do it. I don’t have to ask permission from anybody,” he continued. “I thought she was going to deny it and walk away when there was a video, and she saw that I was recording. She doubled down and even tripled down now.”

The Rochester Police Department confirmed to KTTC it was looking into the matter.

A user identifying as Shiloh Hendrix claimed to be the woman in the video and created a crowdfunding campaign, saying she needed to "relocate" her family due to response to the video.

“I have been put into a very dire situation," she wrote. "I recently had a kid steal from my 18month old sons diaper bag at a park. I called the kid out for what he was.

“Another man, who we recently found out has had a history with law enforcement, proceeded to record me and follow me to my car. He then posted these videos online which has caused my family, and myself, great turmoil,” she continued. “My SSN has been leaked. My address, and phone number have been given out freely. My family members are being attacked. My eldest child may not be going back to school. Even where I exercise has been exposed.”

The fundraiser had raised more than $620,000 by Sunday afternoon, with a goal of $1 million.

“I don’t know what to say. It’s mind-boggling. I don’t know. I thought she was going to get punished for this, but apparently not. She’s getting rewarded,” Omar said in response to the crowdfund.

In response to Hendrix’s fundraiser, the Rochester Branch of the NAACP launched its own fundraiser in support of the child and his family. The campaign exceeded its $150,000 goal, reaching $341,504 before being closed at the family’s request.

Omar also told the news station that he can’t leave his residence as he and his family have received death threats since the video became public.

KTTC acknowledged that Omar’s past legal issues have surfaced online, noting that he was charged with two sexual assault offenses in 2022, both of which were later dismissed.

The news station also spoke with Minnesota attorney Joe Tamburino, who explained that while Hendrix’s comments may be offensive, they are likely protected under the First Amendment unless they rise to the level of “fighting words” or involve threats of violence.

“What the police are trying to do is to see if something else has occurred, to see if there are any threats,” Tamburino told KTTC. “Were there any threats of physical harm or a weapon? I’m sure that is part of the investigation, to see if there is something else besides the strong words [and the] hateful words.”

Tamburino noted since the video was filmed in a public park, recording and sharing it to social media was legal.