{{Short description|2025 video from Minnesota, United States}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox event | title = Rochester, Minnesota, racial slur video incident | date = April–May 2025 | location = Soldiers Field Memorial Park, Rochester, Minnesota | coordinates = {{coord|44.016650|N|92.465872|W|display=inline,title}} | map = {{Location map|USA Minnesota|float=center|caption=Soldiers Field Memorial Park in Rochester, Minnesota|coordinates={{coord|44.016650|N|92.465872|W}}}} | charges = Shiloh Hendrix: three counts of misdemeanor disorderly conduct }}
In early May 2025, a confrontation between a white woman named Shiloh Hendrix and a black man propagated online after she called a eight-year-old black child a racial slur at a public playground in Rochester, Minnesota. Over the course of the recorded confrontation, the woman repeated the slur several times at the man recording and told him he was a drain on the welfare system.
Hendrix set up a fundraiser, which generated controversy as monetizing hate speech, and identified herself as the woman in the video. Many of the donations were accompanied by comments expressing alt-right and racist sympathies, including references to Holocaust denial and white nationalism. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held a town hall meeting on May 7, condemning the actions of the woman in the video, and launched a fundraiser for the child in the video. After the incident, the man said that the boy was autistic and was "visibly upset by the incident." In an interview with KIMT-TV, the man who filmed the confrontation said he did not believe the woman's accusations of the child stealing from the diaper bag.
A spokesperson for the Rochester Police Department stated that they had received calls related to the video and were "gathering information and actively looking into the matter". On August 26, 2025, Hendrix was criminally charged with three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct in connection with the incident.
==Incident== ===Video=== During the week of April 28, 2025,<ref name="NBC_20250505" /> a video was recorded at Soldiers Field Memorial Park in Rochester, Minnesota, by a 30-year-old man named Sharmake Omar.<ref name="Independent_20250502" /><ref name="NBC_20250502"/> The video showed a white woman being confronted by Omar after calling an eight-year-old boy of Somali descent a "nigger". Omar did not know the boy but had met his parents.<ref name="NBC_20250502" /> When Omar, who is also of Somali heritage, asked the woman if she had called the child the slur, she responded "Yeah," adding that the child had taken items belonging to her child from a diaper bag. Omar then confronted Hendrix, asking if he had heard her correctly. Hendrix answered yes, then directed the epithet at him several times, at which point Omar began filming her.<ref name="Post_Bulletin_20250506" />
The video, which runs for 49 seconds,<ref name="Post_Bulletin_20250506_1" /> shows Hendrix walking away from Omar while carrying her son, with Omar following behind asking her to explain her actions. Hendrix responded, "mind your fucking own business"<ref name="People_20250504" /> and accused the boy of stealing items from her son's diaper bag. When Omar asked if that would justify her use of the slur, Hendrix responded, "If that's what he's going to act like."<ref name="NBC_20250502" /><ref name="NBC_20250505" /><ref name="Independent_20250502" /> The video then shows Hendrix giving Omar the middle finger, and sticking her tongue out at him.<ref name="Independent_20250502" /><ref name="WaPo_20250504" /> At one point, Omar asked Hendrix, "Why don't you have the balls to say it right now again so that the world can see?" Hendrix responded by repeating the slur three times in rapid succession, which Omar told her was "hate speech". "I don't give a shit," replied Hendrix, after which Omar said, "We'll see about that, what the Internet has to say about you."<ref name="NBC_20250502" /><ref name="Independent_20250502" /><ref name="WaPo_20250504" />
In his interview with NBC, Omar said that Hendrix described the boy as a drain on the welfare system, and that the boy had been "visibly upset by the incident."<ref name="NBC_20250502" /> In a different interview with KIMT-TV, Omar said he did not believe the woman's accusations of the child stealing from the diaper bag.<ref name="CBS_20250505" /> According to the Rochester local newspaper, ''Post-Bulletin'', Omar said the boy had taken a packet of applesauce off a park bench, which can be seen being held by Hendrix in the video.<ref name="Post_Bulletin_20250506_1" />
===Aftermath=== Soon after the video went viral, Hendrix publicly declared herself to be the woman in the video and set up a fundraiser on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo in order to raise money to "help protect" her family. On her campaign page, Hendrix wrote that her family's address and her Social Security number had been leaked in the aftermath of the video, and she said that she had received online threats and needed to relocate her family for safety reasons. Hendrix defended her actions by writing, "I called the kid out for what he was."<ref name=WaPo_20250504 />
By May 6, the fundraiser had raised over {{US dollar|700000|2025|round=-3}}.<ref name=Newsweek_20250506 /> Many of the donations were accompanied by comments expressing alt-right and racist sympathies, including references to Holocaust denial and white nationalism.<ref name=WaPo_20250504 /><ref name=NBC_20250505 /> Some donors wrote that they were defending free speech.<ref name=Independent_20250502 /> In response, GiveSendGo decided to mute comments on the fundraiser.<ref name=WaPo_20250504 /><ref name=ABC_20250509 /> Some conservatives said they saw the campaign for Hendrix as a "form of backlash" to the funds raised for the accused in the killing of Austin Metcalf, in which a black student had been charged with murdering a white student in Frisco, Texas, the month prior; the accused's fundraiser, also on GiveSendGo, raised more than half a million dollars.<ref name=Hindustan_20250504 /><ref name=Independent_MAGA_20250506 /> Some supporters of Make America Great Again also viewed it as a protest against anti-white racism and cancel culture.<ref name=Independent_MAGA_20250506 />
The parents of the boy requested privacy,<ref name="KAAL_20250504" /> and said that they wanted Hendrix to be prosecuted if possible.<ref name="NBC_20250502" />
==Reactions== Omar stated in an interview with a local news outlet that he received death threats from social media users after Hendrix "called attention to" Omar's police record on her campaign page.<ref name=WaPo_20250504 /> The Minnesota branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement to protect Omar and the family of the eight-year-old.<ref name=CBS_20250505 />
The Rochester chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held a town hall meeting on May 7, condemning the actions of the woman in the video, and launched a GoFundMe fundraiser for the child in the video; they ended the campaign at the request of the family after the fundraiser surpassed its goal, raising {{US dollar|341504|2025}}.<ref name=WaPo_20250504 /><ref name=KAAL_20250504 /> Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the hate speech unacceptable while family members and civic leaders demanded that Hendrix be charged with a hate crime.<ref name=Star_Tribune_20250508 /> The City of Rochester called the footage "deeply disturbing" in a social media post.<ref name=WaPo_20250504 /> The state legislature representatives for Rochester (Liz Boldon, Kim Hicks, Tina Liebling, and Andy Smith)<ref name=KAAL_Protests_20250505 /> released a joint statement commending Omar for "standing up and protecting one of our youngest community members" and condemning the actions of the woman in the video.<ref name=NBC_20250502 /><ref name=KAAL_Protests_20250505 />
Media critic Parker Molloy called the fundraiser for Hendrix an example of "vice signaling," a form of virtue signaling for negative behaviors.<ref name=New_Republic_20250506 /> Conservative political commentator Matt Walsh supported Hendrix's campaign and commented that, "The latest race-baiting story followed the cancel culture script right up until the twist ending" and that this was about "destroying the 'cancel culture' mob once and for all."<ref name=Independent_MAGA_20250506 /> ''Red Scare'' podcaster Anna Khachiyan said, "I will support [Hendrix] on principle because of the importance of not letting the left dictate speech codes and torment everyone with gay race communism."<ref name=Bulwark_20250506 />
==Criminal charges== On May 2, a spokesperson for the Rochester Police Department said that they had received calls related to the video and were "gathering information and actively looking into the matter".<ref name="Independent_20250502" /> On August 26, Hendrix was charged by summons with three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, with each count carrying a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. On November 20, it was announced that a trial is set to begin on August 31, 2026, with a pretrial scheduled for August 21.<ref>{{cite web |author=KAALTV |date=November 20, 2025 |title=Trial date set for Rochester woman accused of using racial slurs against a child |url=https://www.kaaltv.com/news/trial-date-set-for-rochester-woman-accused-of-using-racial-slurs-against-a-child/ |work=ABC 6 News |access-date=January 19, 2026 |archive-date=January 15, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260115175259/https://www.kaaltv.com/news/trial-date-set-for-rochester-woman-accused-of-using-racial-slurs-against-a-child/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On March 25, 2026, during her first in-person court appearance, one of the three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct was dropped.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prondzinski |first=Olivia |date=2026-03-25 |title=Court drops one of three disorderly conduct charges against Rochester woman in viral racist video |url=https://www.kttc.com/2026/03/25/court-drops-one-three-disorderly-conduct-charges-against-rochester-woman-viral-racist-video/ |access-date=2026-05-17 |website=KTTC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Frey |first=Josh |date=2026-03-25 |title=Trial for Shiloh Hendrix rescheduled; charges amended |url=https://www.kaaltv.com/news/trial-for-shiloh-hendrix-rescheduled-charges-amended/ |access-date=2026-05-17 |website=ABC 6 News - kaaltv.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|1=30em|refs= <ref name="NBC_20250502">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rochester-minnesota-park-racist-rcna204553|title=Police investigate after white mother used racist slur at Minnesota park|work=NBC News|date=May 2, 2025|access-date=May 5, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250503031536/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rochester-minnesota-park-racist-rcna204553|archive-date=May 3, 2025|first1=Nollaig|last1=O'Connor|first2=Dennis|last2=Romero}}</ref>
<ref name="NBC_20250505">{{cite news |last1=Hampton |first1=Deon J. |last2=O'Connor |first2=Nollaig |date=May 5, 2025 |title=Fundraiser allegedly for woman who used racial slur against child draws racist comments of support |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/online-fundraiser-woman-used-racial-slur-raises-675k-racist-support-rcna204923 |access-date=May 5, 2025 |work=NBC News |archive-date=May 5, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250505231701/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/online-fundraiser-woman-used-racial-slur-raises-675k-racist-support-rcna204923 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Independent_20250502">{{cite news|url=https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/woman-racial-slur-relocate-b2744106.html|title=Videotaped woman whose racial slurs against child went viral raises $300k online|first=Michelle|last=Del Rey|date=May 2, 2025|access-date=May 5, 2025|work=The Independent|archive-date=May 4, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250504095653/https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/woman-racial-slur-relocate-b2744106.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="WaPo_20250504">{{cite news|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/05/03/playground-racial-slurs-video-fundraiser/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250505002306/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/05/03/playground-racial-slurs-video-fundraiser/|archive-date=May 5, 2025|title=Mom raises $500K after appearing to hurl racist slur at child in viral video|date=May 4, 2025|access-date=May 5, 2025|first=Angie|last=Orellana Hernandez}}</ref>
<ref name="CBS_20250505">{{cite news|work=CBS News|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/viral-video-racial-slur-rochester-playground-backlash/|title=Woman caught in "n-word" tirade in Rochester raises $600K via fundraiser, sparking community backlash|first=Nick|last=Lentz|date=May 5, 2025|access-date=May 6, 2025|archive-date=May 7, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250507014049/https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/viral-video-racial-slur-rochester-playground-backlash/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Newsweek_20250506">{{cite web |last1=Plummer |first1=Kate |last2=Croucher |first2=Shane |title=Shiloh Hendrix GiveSendGo raises double amount of boy who was called N-word |url=https://www.newsweek.com/shiloh-hendrix-givesendgo-raises-700k-she-receives-flood-donations-2068603 |website=Newsweek |access-date=6 May 2025 |language=en |date=6 May 2025 |archive-date=May 6, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506182218/https://www.newsweek.com/shiloh-hendrix-givesendgo-raises-700k-she-receives-flood-donations-2068603 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="ABC_20250509">{{Cite web |first1=Terry |last1=Tang |agency=Associated Press |first2=Sarah |last2=Raza |title=A woman who called a Black child a slur has raised a backlash but also tons of money |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/woman-called-black-child-slur-raised-backlash-thousands-121576616 |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=ABC News |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250515063205/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/woman-called-black-child-slur-raised-backlash-thousands-121576616 |archive-date=May 15, 2025}}</ref>
<ref name="Hindustan_20250504">{{Cite news |last=Sen |first=Sumanti |date=2025-05-04 |title=Shiloh Hendricks donations: GiveSendGo crosses $600k amid comparison to Karmelo Anthony fundraiser |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/shiloh-hendricks-raises-more-than-591k-after-racist-rant-draws-comparison-to-karmelo-anthony-fundraiser-101746335757923.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250505022142/https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/shiloh-hendricks-raises-more-than-591k-after-racist-rant-draws-comparison-to-karmelo-anthony-fundraiser-101746335757923.html |archive-date=2025-05-05 |access-date=2025-05-06 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en-us}}</ref>
<ref name="Independent_MAGA_20250506">{{cite web |last=Baragona |first=Justin |title=MAGA justifies turning n-word woman into folk hero by blaming Texas stabbing suspect |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/shiloh-hendrix-slur-karmelo-anthony-stabbing-maga-b2745949.html |website=The Independent |access-date=7 May 2025 |language=en |date=6 May 2025 |archive-date=May 7, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250507021158/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/shiloh-hendrix-slur-karmelo-anthony-stabbing-maga-b2745949.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="KAAL_20250504">{{cite web |last1=Mantos |first1=Rachel |title=Rochester NAACP closes GoFundMe after surpassing goal |url=https://www.kaaltv.com/news/rochester-naacp-closes-gofundme-after-surpassing-goal/ |website=ABC 6 News - kaaltv.com |access-date=6 May 2025 |date=4 May 2025 |archive-date=May 6, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506181424/https://www.kaaltv.com/news/rochester-naacp-closes-gofundme-after-surpassing-goal/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Star_Tribune_20250508">{{Cite web |last=Mewes |first=Trey |date=2025-05-08 |title=Community leaders call on Rochester authorities to charge woman in racist viral video |url=https://www.startribune.com/this-is-your-test-community-leaders-call-on-rochester-authorities-to-charge-woman-in-racist-viral-video/601345299 |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Star Tribune |language=en |archive-date=May 9, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250509120949/https://www.startribune.com/this-is-your-test-community-leaders-call-on-rochester-authorities-to-charge-woman-in-racist-viral-video/601345299 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="KAAL_Protests_20250505">{{cite news|title=Protests held in Rochester in response to viral racial slurs video|url=https://www.kaaltv.com/news/protests-held-in-rochester-in-response-to-viral-racial-slurs-video/|date=5 May 2025|access-date=13 May 2025|first=Chandler|last=Jackson|work=KAAL-TV|archive-date=May 13, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250513161542/https://www.kaaltv.com/news/protests-held-in-rochester-in-response-to-viral-racial-slurs-video/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="New_Republic_20250506">{{Cite magazine |last=Molloy |first=Parker |date=2025-05-06 |title=How Calling a Child the N-Word Made One Woman $700,000 |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/194925/shiloh-hendrix-right-ring-fundraising |access-date=2025-06-16 |magazine=The New Republic |issn=0028-6583 |archive-date=December 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251203211744/https://newrepublic.com/article/194925/shiloh-hendrix-right-ring-fundraising |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Bulwark_20250506">{{Cite web |last=Sommer |first=Will |date=2025-05-06 |title=She Called a 5-Year-Old the N-Word. And the online right rallied to her side. |url=https://www.thebulwark.com/p/she-called-a-five-year-old-the-n-word-crowdfunding |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=The Bulwark |language=en |archive-date=December 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251203211744/https://www.thebulwark.com/p/she-called-a-five-year-old-the-n-word-crowdfunding |url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="People_20250504">{{cite news | last=Sheffield | first=Toria | title=Woman Who Appeared to Hurl a Racist Slur at a Child in a Viral Video Has Raised Over $600,000 in Donations for Herself | website=People.com | date=4 May 2025 | url=https://people.com/shiloh-hendrix-woman-who-appeared-to-hurl-racist-slur-at-child-gets-over-600k-fundraising-page-11727908 | access-date=21 September 2025 | archive-date=May 31, 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250531033724/https://people.com/shiloh-hendrix-woman-who-appeared-to-hurl-racist-slur-at-child-gets-over-600k-fundraising-page-11727908 | url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Post_Bulletin_20250506">{{cite news | last=Stolle | first=Matthew | title='I'm being punished severely,' says Rochester man who posted racial slur incident | website=Rochester Post Bulletin | date=6 May 2025 | url=https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/im-being-punished-severely-says-rochester-man-who-posted-racial-slur-incident | access-date=21 September 2025 | archive-date=August 26, 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250826213623/https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/im-being-punished-severely-says-rochester-man-who-posted-racial-slur-incident | url-status=live }}</ref>
<ref name="Post_Bulletin_20250506_1">{{cite news | title=Your questions answered on the viral video | website=Rochester Post Bulletin | date=6 May 2025 | url=https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/your-questions-answered-on-the-viral-video | access-date=21 September 2025 | archive-date=October 29, 2025 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251029134105/https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/your-questions-answered-on-the-viral-video | url-status=live }}</ref> }}
{{Portal bar|2020s|Minnesota|Law}}
Category:2020s viral videos Category:2025 controversies in the United States Category:2025 in Internet culture Category:2025 in Minnesota Category:Anti-African and anti-black slurs Category:Anti-black racism in Minnesota Category:May 2025 in the United States Category:Rochester, Minnesota Category:Somali-American history