Family in Pennsylvania Leaves Their Home After Facing Several Anti-Black Crimes in a Week

In Pitcairn, Pennsylvania, just 15 miles away from Pittsburgh, a black mother and her 4-year-old daughter fleed their home after enduring several anti-black hate crimes, WTAE reported. 

On Wednesday, Courtney Mike-Wilson found the word "nigger" spraypainted in white on her vehicle. A few days later, her daughter's dodgeballs were slashed with a knife and laid out on her doormat with a note. Then she found her daughter's toys and bicycle doused with gasoline on her front.

The crimes were so "hateful" and "disgusting" to Pitcairn Police Chief Scott Farally, that the department is pushing for an FBI investigation, according to Pittsburgh's WTAE. A hate crime investigation is underway.

Mike-Wilson told WTAE that she already sent her young daughter to live with family members, and is already in the process of finding a new home to move to after the numerous threats and crimes. She also said that she's afraid of telling her daughter about the attacks.

"She can't walk to the park anymore," Mike-Wilson said to WTAE. "She can't go to the day care. I don't tell her what's going on. I'd rather she not be scared, but it's hard to come up with first and last month rent so quickly, especially when you think you're going to be somewhere for a while."

Luckily, Mike-Wilson and her daughter were not physically harmed, but these deliberate anti-black attacks against them are still emotionally and mentally scarring. It's a message to a black family, from a predominantly white community, that they are not wanted in the neighborhood.

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