Racist package with Black Barbie and n-word message left for 7-year-old girl
Racial violence across the country caused a woman to be fearful when a hate message came to her door
A Missouri woman who recently moved into her home with her 7-year-old granddaughter discovered a package with a racist message attached, which frightened her due to the current national climate of racial threats.
Linda Gibbs, 62, who is Black, normally has the child retrieve her mail, due to leg pain,” The Independent reported. However, last week she got the mail herself and when she opened the mailbox, she found the package in red and white Christmas wrapping. On the front, a message read: “To spy hurry home,” and also, “Do your homework.”
Gibbs says she flipped the packaged and found “n——r” written on the other side.
Bombings spread fear
Due to the bombings in Austin, Gibbs reported the package and the FBI responded with a bomb squad. Authorities reportedly used a robot to retrieve the package and to scan its contents. It was determined that it was not a threat. But inside the package a Black Barbie doll was found, indicating the package may have been targeted at the child.
Gibbs moved into the home with her granddaughter last month, and says the mostly kept to themselves. Both the police and Gibson believe the suspect had been staking out her home. Although the writing on the package was written sloppily and in what would appear to be a child’s handwriting, the police are certain that the hate crime was done by an adult.
Erin Curtis, FBI spokesperson, told The Independent that they had opened a civil rights investigation into the matter and could not comment any further at this time.
“I’m still thinking it could have been my grandbaby,” Gibbs said, worried that her grandchild, who is biracial, could have easily picked up the box and seen the hate message herself.
Although Gibbs believes her granddaughter is too young to comprehend racism, she did explain to her the intolerance of some people. “I told her sometimes people are ignorant, but you look around, it’s diverse,” she told the Kansas City News. “No need to be ashamed of your skin color.”
Gibbs also noted President Trump as a cause for concern. She referenced his rhetoric, which she blames for a rise in white supremacist activity and the deadly incident in Charlottesville, Va., in which Trump pointed to demonstrators among the alt-right as “very fine people.”
“That’s not a good thing for a president to say,” Gibbs said. “Seems like he’s just opening the door for all kinds of crazies. I’ve been here long enough to know.”
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