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A family in an Oregon suburb is speaking out about a neighbor targeting them because they’re Black – by spraying a slur on their own house.
According to reports, the Channel family has been for years dealing with the unhinged antics of a neighbor of theirs in West Linn, a suburb just south of Portland, Oregon. But the neighbor, a woman who has not been identified publicly, has ramped up her disturbing behavior and directed it toward the Channel family, who is Black by recently spray-painting the N-word on her own house.
Andre Channel spoke to local news outlets about the incident, which apparently took place on Christmas Day. He had received a call from another neighbor named Jason while traveling outside of the country. “He was like hey, just want to let you know, your neighbor wrote the n-word all across their house,” Channel said to KPTV. “This is the crossing the line for me, this is new.”
The family stated that the neighbor also directed the slur toward their son earlier in the month. A representative of the West Linn Police Department confirmed they were called to the scene, and that they spray painted over the slur with the homeowner’s consent. But Channel says that action didn’t occur until after him and other neighbors repeatedly called the police to come back. His neighbor Jason stated, “the cops have been here pretty much two or three times a week for the past two months, three months. They’re doing all they can do about it, but we all know the system is broken.”
Channel feels that law enforcement should be doing more. “It seems like we keep getting the run around in regards to there’s a process to this, a process to that,” Channel said. “My daughters shouldn’t have to be at home wondering what’s going to happen next.”
“Incidents such as this cause actual harm, both to those specifically targeted and the wider community at large. We stand firmly against hate and bigotry in all of its forms, and in solidarity with our community members,” the West Linn Police Department said in a statement.
They’ve also said that they’ve notified the Oregon branch of the Department of Justice. Andre Channel is insistent that this ugly incident won’t force him and his family to leave. “I’m not going to let one person force me out of a neighborhood in a city that I love,” he said. “We should be able to come home and feel safe, period.”