Rochester woman seen spewing racist slur pulls in thousands in donations

ROCHESTER – A viral video of a mom who allegedly directed racial slurs at a young Black boy at a city playground has prompted a fundraising standoff between the NAACP and an apparent white supremacist effort to support the woman.

By Friday morning, the woman had raised $305,200 and increased her goal to $1 million on a website that bills itself as a Christian crowdfunding service.

The fundraiser purportedly belonging to Shiloh Hendrix had initially sought $20,000 after the video surfaced Wednesday of her spewing racial epithets at a man who intervened on the boy’s behalf.

The virality of the video has raised shock and concern as Minnesota’s third-largest city deals with yet another racial incident in recent months.

The video shows Hendrix, of Rochester, at Soldiers Field Memorial Park, just south of downtown. She repeats the slur to the man behind the camera, at one point telling the man the Black child took something from her and her toddler.

“If he acts like one then he’s going to be called one,” Hendrix could be heard saying in the video.

Social media commenters have claimed the Black child is around 5 years old and autistic. The Minnesota Star Tribune could not independently confirm the identity of the boy.

On her fundraising page, Hendrix says her family has been put into a “dire situation” given the attention the video has drawn.

Hendrix wrote on the page that the Black boy stole from her 18-month-old’s diaper bag at the park and she “called the kid out for what he was.”

“I fear that we must relocate,” Hendrix wrote. “I have two small children who do not deserve this. We have been threatened to the extreme by people online. Anything will help! We cannot, and will not live in fear!”

One of the many anonymous donors posted with the name “Dylan Roof,” similar to the name of the man who killed nine people at a Black church in South Carolina in 2015.

In an update Friday, Hendrix thanked donors and said her family had taken precautions against the threats she said she’s received online.

The Star Tribune made several calls to a publicly listed number for Hendrix but received no response.

The Rochester branch of the NAACP has called on authorities to investigate the incident.

The group also asked that witnesses and the boy’s family contact the NAACP to gather more information, describing the woman’s actions on video as “an intentional racist, threatening, hateful and verbal attack against a child.”

Rochester NAACP President Walé Elegbede said Thursday evening that Hendrix needed to be held accountable for her actions.

“Now she’s fundraising on this, and that is just abhorrent and totally unacceptable,” he said. “She needs to face legal consequences for all her actions. This is a disgrace.”

The local NAACP also encourages people to donate to a separate fund they have set up for broader antiracist efforts in the community.

DFL lawmakers in the Rochester area condemned the incident.

“This disgusting rhetoric has no place in our community, and we’re grateful that a bystander took action and prevented further escalation by the perpetrator,” Sen. Liz Boldon and Reps. Andy Smith, Kim Hicks and Tina Liebling said in a statement.

This is the latest in a series of high-profile racist incidents in the community over the past year.

In April 2024, four teens spelled out a racist slur using cups tucked into a chain-link fence on a pedestrian bridge near Century High School. The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office declined to charge the teens.

Rochester officials and community groups have responded with town hall meetings and programs including an initiative between Mayo Clinic and the NAACP that focuses on community support access.

Mayor Kim Norton stressed the incidents stem from the actions of a few. She also highlighted antiracist initiatives she hopes to see at local events this summer.

“We can keep standing in solidarity with those who are being marginalized,” Norton said. “We will continue to do that in this city because it’s the right thing to do.”

More of these incidents are cropping up online, which Andre Crockett Sr., pastor of Vision Church, worries will hurt the area’s children and young adults.

“I think that we still haven’t healed completely from all the incidents over the past couple of years,” Crockett said. “We need more safe places that not only adults can go to but where kids can go to.”