Family says teen's interracial relationship prompted vandals to torch and spray-paint car with swastika
A woman in Goldsboro, N.C., who woke up on Thursday to find the family’s van had been torched by vandals and covered in racial slurs believes the apparent hate crime was a form of retaliation against her 14-year-old daughter’s interracial relationship.
Amanda Miller told local Raleigh, North Carolina, news station WRAL she still can’t believe what happened to her car.
“When you walk out, all you see is a swastika, and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, what just happened?” Miller said of the racist symbol that accompanied terrifying, spray-painted scrawlings calling her daughter a “wh***,” “s***, and “n***** lovin b*****”, and telling her to “rot in hell.”
Miller believes the graffiti was a severe reaction to her daughter’s recent relationship with an African American boy she met at church.
The vulgar words were accompanied by $17,000 worth of fire damage to the family’s brand new 2018 SUV, which they’ve made only four payments on so far. The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office is now calling the destruction of property a case of arson, vandalism, and racism, and have launched an investigation that includes digging into social media accounts and phone records as well as conducting in-person interviews to identify the vandals.
“It makes your heart sink,” Miller told Raleigh news station WTVD of how it feels to be the target of so much hate. “It’s sad. It’s awful. It makes you just feel like, ‘Oh my gosh, somebody has this much anger; what’s next?'”
Miller said she’s always taught her daughter, Brianna, to gravitate toward people who treat her well, regardless of their race or ethnicity. “I’ve always tried to instill in her: Be friends with who is good to you. Like who is good to you,” she told WTVD. “It doesn’t matter what color somebody is, it doesn’t matter what race they are.” She said that Brianna has since amicably broken up with the boy, whose parents have apparently been in contact and very supportive through the crisis.
Though the family doesn’t know exactly who the vandals are that committed these apparent hate crimes — which include fire damage to a second nearby car — Miller says Brianna has been bullied on social media for her interracial romance. “I’m worried about her going back to school, because I don’t know what’s gonna happen at school,” she said to WRAL, adding that the family plans to meet with officials at Brianna’s high school to assess whether it’s safe for her to return.
Miller said Brianna has been away in Florida visiting family so she hasn’t even been home to see the destruction firsthand. When she returns, the teen will be heading straight the sheriff’s office to talk with authorities and have her phone searched for clues.
“I think anybody that has that much anger and [could] write something like that and damage someone else’s property — they’re capable of doing bodily harm to somebody else,” Miller told WTVD.
Miller says her great hope is that Brianna still feels free to make friends and date with an open heart and mind. “I don’t want her to hide who she is,” Miller said. “I want her to have a normal life like everybody else has, and I feel like is going to kinda put her in a box … she feels she can’t get out of.”
Neighbors have dropped by to express their support to the family and their gratitude that the harsh, hateful graffiti was finally erased from the vehicle. Miller says she wants the community to feel at ease and feels that catching the vandals will bring the justice needed to restore and sense of normalcy. “I hope that people just stop,” she said. “They need to look at this and say, ‘This has gone too far. This has to stop.'”
In the meantime, the Millers have set up a GoFundMe page (warning: photos on the page contain explicit language) to raise money to replace the SUV that’s been totaled. Miller says their auto insurance will not cover the damage, and they will have a shortfall of $7,000. “We have to try and find a cheap car with low payments, as we can’t afford 3 car payments much less a car that we no longer have,” she wrote on the page, which has raised more than $1,000 toward its $10,000 goal.
Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Amanda Miller for updates on the story and will include new information when she replies.
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