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Death threats at interracial couple not a hate crime?

Posted by James, 17 Jun

interracial couple threatened“Get out of town n*****or u die”!

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That was the content of the note taped to the cinder block that came crashing through Ellis and Jennifer Weatherspoon’s kitchen window on June 13th around midnight; crashing the coffee pot too. The note was signed KKK. Ellis was with his 3 yr old son, Elijah, at the time. Luckily none of them got hit.

On Wednesday, plastic lined the interracial couple’s home to cover the spiked hole left behind. The couple and their son, now afraid, are forced to sleep in their truck, away from home...

See Ellis who is Black has been with his girlfriend Jennifer (White) for 7 years. The couple consider themselves married. They even share the same last name.

According to the couple, people said they were going to burn them out when they first moved into their Turtletown trailer, Polk County, in February… remarks they chose to ignore then. But that wasn’t the end of it. Apparently, there have been other incidents including verbal threats which they never reported because the couple didn’t think they were serious.

So here comes the disheartening bit: The sheriff office didn't classify the cinder block incident as a hate crime but just a mere act of vandalism and damage . “If it is some kind of hate crime, then we will look into it and see if it needs to go that avenue,” said Polk County Sheriff Bill Davis. The sheriff says this is the first case of a racial kind that comes to mind since he started working here in 2006. Security near their home hasn’t been beefed up since the incident.

In short, the sheriff's office doesn’t think the situation is serious enough. Clearly, no one in this county of Tennessee wants to see their town for what is truly is: A town that frowns upon a black person in a relationship with their own (White). Since Tennessee doesn't have a hate crime law, how can such racial hatred be cured?

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10 responses to "Death threats at interracial couple not a hate crime?"

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  1.   shydude74 says:
    Posted: 14 Jun 12

    sad story,black male/whitefemale relationships stand a better chance in a mixed or black neighborhood,of course not all white neighborhoods are bad though. not too surprised tennessee thats the same state dr.king was assasinated,not saying all residents of tennessee are bad because theyre not.

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  2.   missnicelady says:
    Posted: 10 Aug 11

    The so called "sherriff" know's this is a hate crime, but does not give a damn--he probally even know who the racist criminal is...maybe even one of his relatives..We all know how that story goes- and its an old story that has happened many times before. The couple should beef up their own security and protection methods, as well as go to a higher court for justice.

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  3.   mz_doss468 says:
    Posted: 31 Jul 11

    I find this very upsetting. They should not have to sleep in their truck because the people in their county dont want to see what the problem really is.

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  4.   NubianGoddess says:
    Posted: 24 Jul 11

    That is really sad.

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  5.   fkoi says:
    Posted: 21 Jul 11

    It was likely a man who threw the offending note (and cinder block) through the window. Both the type of crime and the weapon indicates a male perpetrator. Historically men don't like Black men to be with White women. Emmett Till was only 14 (and 14 in 1955 was younger than it is today) when talking to a White woman led to his murder. A White man with a Black woman doesn't as often spark the same violent reaction. If it did Thomas Jefferson might not have lived to help found this country. The truly sad thing is that, though this apparently happened in Polk County, TN, it might have happened in any one of the other Polk Counties spread across the country. We don't know all the details but the sheriff's reaction is one that is all too familiar.

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  6.   Sexynubian51 says:
    Posted: 16 Jul 11

    THE SHERIFF IS PROBABLY THE ONE THAT THREW THE BRICK THROUGH THE WINDOW. SOUNDS LIKE HE NEEDS TO KICKED OUT OF OFFICE . YES PLEASE CONTACT LOCAL NAACP, SOMEONE PUT THIS BIGOT IN OFFICE IT IS TIME FOR HIM TO VACATE BEFORE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO THAT BEAUTIFUL FAMILY.....

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  7.   Mychal67 says:
    Posted: 01 Jul 11

    I believe this is a hate crime.It was motivated by the racial makeup of this couple and under statues is defined as such. In these days it is appaling that such a attitude among an elected law enforcement official still exists. That the populace continue to support a sherriff who has his racial attitudes stuck in pre 60's America is an indictment upon those citizens. It is a shame that such attitudes still exist, and NOW is the time for forward thinking citizens to rally together to make a change. Contact the states Attorney Gemeral, the peoples advocate.....Organize rallys to raise awareness...and DON"T give up the quest for social change. Sure, there will opposition, there will be roadblocks put in the way, but that is the way it has always been when closed minds are confronted with the fact that their attitudes will no longer stand as accepted in the society. This is an opportunity for social change, and to not aggressivly utilize this incident to promote change would almost be as sad as the incident itself

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  8.   ladylyric says:
    Posted: 21 Jun 11

    They need to contact the local NAACP in their area, and go to the media and expose that hatred. I would move my family from that area to some place more accepting.

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  9.   hotrod2009 says:
    Posted: 19 Jun 11

    We all know that this is a hate crime. Unfortunately it's sad that in 2011 their are still racist among us. It's really sad that it's within people that are to up hold the law and protect us from any crime. I hope that Ellis and Jennifer can find happiness and safety elsewhere. Especially for their 3yr old son.

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  10.   JustRon says:
    Posted: 18 Jun 11

    I don't have the answer however, that lazy racist sheriff and others need to be replaced right now. Obviously I'm here because I'd like to find a black woman for a relationship so, I have my thoughts about how just plain lousy this is. Waht's unfortunate and wrong is if Ellis fights back, they'll INVENT some reason to arrest him. I hope they can find some peace somewhere.

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