Medcalf: Thanks, Rochester, for not playing the ‘Minnesota Nice’ game

For Wale Elegbede, the fight for equality, fairness and ending discrimination is one he can trace back generations.

His uncle, an admiral, was killed in Nigeria amid political strife. His father became a diplomat to address societal challenges within his country. And now, Elegbede, who is president of the NAACP’s Rochester branch, devotes himself to battling the ills of the world that hurt marginalized communities.

“When it comes to democracy, when it comes to just leadership in general, community, and, ‘How do we transform our society for the better?’, those are things that really, really matter to me,” he said last week.

I called Elegbede to commend him, his organization, the city of Rochester and others who pushed for legal penalties against Shiloh Hendrix. She’s the woman who used a racial slur against a young boy at a local park last spring, and who subsequently collected more than $800,000 through a Christian fundraising site. According to the Rochester City Attorney’s office, she will be charged with three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct. Many of those who backed her financially used the same racist rhetoric that she’d employed at a park when the then 8-year-old boy, who is Black and autistic, reached into a diaper bag that wasn’t his and took an applesauce.

Hendrix responded by using multiple slurs — the incident was captured on camera — and said, “If he acts like one, then he’s going to be called one.”

Now, she’ll face up to 90 days in jail or a $1,000 fine. I don’t think anyone expects her to suffer a severe penalty. But the charges do reflect a measure of accountability that’s necessary.

“If we can start to hold people accountable when they traumatize our children, when they traumatize community members, when they actively do racist acts, we will see this as a change of the tide because we want our community to be a safe place where people can come and live and thrive,” Elegbede said. “And if you don’t hold people accountable, then you’re sending the signal that this is acceptable.”

The city of Rochester took a stand against that culture, though. Whether Hendrix suffers any real penalty remains to be seen. Still, the effort to file charges was a result of hard work and persistence behind the scenes, said Elegbede, who shares the concerns of those who do not think the charges are sufficient.

“This is a start. This is a journey,” he said. “It took a lot of work to get to this. Without our leadership, this would not happen, and without the community’s support and interest, as well.”

While the conversation has centered on Hendrix and her actions, the journey of a boy and his family has been overlooked. They’re the actual victims. After a routine trip to a park, they became the subject of national headlines and subsequently had to protect their privacy. They did not deserve this scrutiny and treatment, as many people who falsely claimed to be members of the family tried to claim donations and recognition intended for the boy.

“They’re struggling,” Elegbede said of the family. “This was not just something that impacted the child in question. It affected the whole family. But they’re such a kind and humble family. They just want to focus on their child, but they also want to have accountability. There were lots of conversations about this. ‘Do we just put our heads down and just go about our business?’ But their child has been impacted by this, and they also know that this is not just only about their child, it’s really about a larger message.”

I don’t believe a set of misdemeanor charges will heal the wounds of a family and a community that continues to deal with the aftermath of this damaging incident. But the charges mean Hendrix’s name will be attached to an official record of her actions.