Black Family’s Neighbor Set Up System To Play Monkey Sounds And Racial Slurs At Their Home

admins 11:14 PM
CNN broadcast on a racist neighbor blaring racist audio at a Black family's house

Photo via @chris_notcapn/Twitter

October 7, 2021, 11:49 am*

A Black family in Virginia Beach has been trying to get the police to do something about their neighbor, who rigged up a system with a motion detector that plays monkey noises and audio using the n-word at their property, for over a year with no luck.

Featured Video
Hide

According to Jannique Martinez, whenever they try to enter or exit their home, lights pointed at her front door start flashing and audio trumpets screaming monkeys and plays audio clips from a South Park episode that included many uses of the n-word.

Local police claim that they can’t do anything about the problem because it’s technically not a crime. How targeted harassment that must violate neighborhood noise ordinances isn’t a crime is a vexing mystery to the Martinez family as well as to anti-racist folks everywhere hearing about this story after they’ve endured this for over a year.

Advertisement
Hide

According to NBC News, this elaborate racism machine was put into place by their neighbor, identified as John Michael Eskildsen, in apparent retaliation for a single time that Martinez reported him for loud music. The racist audio pointed directly at their house seems like more of a noise problem than loud music ever could be, yet the Virginia Beach Police Department has only doubled down on their refusal to do anything about it with a recent statement posted on Twitter, blaming others for their inaction.

“As appalling and offensive as the neighbors’ behaviors are, the city attorney and Virginia magistrates have separately determined that the actions reported thus far did not rise to a level that Virginia law defines as criminal behavior,” it said. “This means the VBPD has had no authority to intervene and warrants were not supported.”

Martinez says that her young son has been severely impacted by this constant anti-Black tirade.

“My son is terrified of him. Terrified!” she told reporters.

Advertisement
Hide

Anti-racist activists have pointed to the state’s hate crime laws in this case, saying that the neighbor is engaging in targeted harassment that very clearly has a racial motive. Virginia law defines a hate crime as “any act of intimidation or harassment, physical violence, or vandalism, where such acts are motivated by animosity based on race, religion, gender, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.”

Some legal experts are asking why this elaborate motion detector system with lights and audio doesn’t cross the line into harassment or intimidation.

“The city and police department are being cowardly for not intervening and, if necessary, bringing charges so that a court can decide whether this is constitutionally protected,” said University of Virginia School of Law Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui.

Thankfully, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring says he has contacted the Martinez family and is currently working on a way to stop this racist abuse.

“Any race-based harassment and discrimination in housing is illegal in the Commonwealth, and my team and I will take any and all measures to assure that it does not happen in Virginia,” said a statement from Herring’s office. “No one should ever feel uncomfortable or in danger within their own home because of the actions of their neighbors.”

Although this story has finally caught national attention, including being featured on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, having to endure this harassment for so many months has left Martinez feeling alone and hopeless, as though “there is no one to fight for us.”

Twitter users are working to show her that this is not the case.

Advertisement
Hide

Advertisement
Hide

Share this article

*First Published: October 7, 2021, 11:48 am

Tags
Reactions

Post a Comment

0 Comments