very single one in this photo will get what is coming to them," read the ominous Instagram message sent to several students of color at the University of La Verne, east of Los Angeles, in March 2019. The accompanying black-and-white photo was of a group of outspoken students who were well-known on campus for organizing anti-racism protests. Seen in the photo: Anayeli Dominguez Peña, a Mexican-American graduate student and vocal social-justice campaigner. She had been instrumental in organizing numerous protests in the Decolonize ULV group she co-led.
"That wet back bitch Anayeli and that n---r Jasmine need to SHUT THEIR DIRTY F---ING MOUTHS. WE KNOW WHERE THEY LIVE AND WHAT CARS THEY DRIVE," the threat continued. (Newsweek has redacted the explicit slurs that were spelled out in the messages.) "If one of them DIRTY BITCHES get it after night classes you know why. This ain't no f---ing colored AMERICA."
News of the racist threat quickly spread through social media, stoking fear on the campus of over 8,600 students. The university had already been marred by student accusations that the administration wasn't doing enough to combat racism and protect minority students. Those pictured in the threat were called to an emergency meeting where administrators detailed a safety plan for the victims. It included increasing security, making available escort walking buddies and providing rides as needed.
The following morning, Dominguez Peña, who was living in campus housing and named in the threat, found her parked car emitting smoke. Someone had tried to start a fire with a backpack inside the vehicle. The university cancelled all remaining classes that day and the La Verne Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation stepped in to investigate.
The back-to-back incidents rattled the community, forcing the administration to hold town hall-style meetings and cancel more classes the following week. But no arrests were made. Some students blamed the university for allowing racism to fester and warned that it would only be a matter of time before another racist attack. Two months later, Dominguez Peña reported she was attacked by a masked individual who placed a bag and rope over her head, groped her and slammed her head against the railing in a dormitory stairwell.
read more:
Replies