McCordsville neighbors rally around family that received racist letter
McCORDSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — A McCordsville neighborhood is sending a message against racism after a Black family living there received a racist letter.
Wesley Smith found the letter in his mailbox Friday night.
“It started off innocent and quickly went downhill from there,” Smith said.
The anonymous author says they were disappointed to live next to a black family.
“It’s shocking,” Smith said.
That statement is surrounded by complaints about Smith’s birthday party last year being too loud.
“You waited a whole year to send a letter,” Brookelynn Smith said. “So you marked your calendar for that. I think that’s the disturbing part because you had that on your heart.”
Neighbors say the party that included about 30 people wasn’t an issue, just like the birthday party held Saturday night for 1-year-old Wyatt.
“Never,” neighbor Noel Wilson said. “It’s never been something we’ve been worried about and we literally share a backyard with them.”
The letter is addressed as from “Neighborhood Assoc” handwritten in the top right corner of the envelope. The writer tells the Smiths they “took time out of their busy day” to write them a letter and that they speak for the entire neighborhood. But neighbors told News 8 that was not the case at all.
“We intentionally chose to build in this neighborhood because of the diversity and the acceptance in the neighborhood,” Wilson said.
“It’s just disgusting!” neighbor Nick Olson said. “I don’t understand how anyone can live in a neighborhood — especially our neighborhood being relatively diverse for the area that we live in — and think like that.”
Olson lives across the street from the Smiths and on Saturday was creating signs to send a message to the letter’s author saying that they’re the unwelcome ones.
“If you were to look on our Facebook page right now for the neighborhood, you would overwhelmingly see that the response is ‘No.’ Like, they’re welcome here,” Olson said. “It’s people that hate other people for no reason who are not welcome in this neighborhood.”
The Smiths say they’ve reported the letter to the police.
“Don’t feel threatened,” Wesley Smith said was the police response. “Have a party. They mentioned that as well. He left and brought back his partner…And then also said have a party.”
So the Smiths will celebrate big at the end of the month, this time for Brookelynn Smith’s golden birthday.
“You’re going to hear us more, you’re going to see us more as well,” Wesley Smith said. “We’ll make it known and if you don’t like it, leave. Simple as that.”
The Smiths say they’ll let neighbors know the hours they’ll be partying, just like last year. If they’re being too loud, they welcome neighbors to let them know without sending a racist letter. They say try knocking on the door first or giving them a call.