Northern Orange NAACP VP Calls for Change Following Racism at Virtual Event

A virtual event by the Northern Orange branch of the NAACP was hacked this weekend with the goal of stopping it with racist and sexist content. Days later, participants of the call are asking the community to continue denouncing such acts of oppression.

Sunday’s event was the second virtual town hall hosted by the chapter to discuss law enforcement reform. Organizers planned for community members to share stories, good and bad, about law enforcement interactions and to discuss ways to dismantle systemic racism.

LaTarndra Strong is the vice president of the Northern Orange NAACP. She said the first thing to pop up during the call over Zoom was an image of people in Klu Klux Klan robes holding guns and Confederate flags.

Strong, who’s work as an activist is known for getting Confederate flags banned in Orange County Schools, said she’s experienced such racism in the comment sections of social media before. But the graphic methods of suppression and intimidation seen Sunday were something she said she’s not seen in the community before. Strong also said she felt targeted by the disruptors.

“So, we saw the screen flash [with this KKK image], but they waited until I started to speak,” she described. “As soon as I started talking, we heard the monkey sounds. It [looked] as if when I was talking, monkey sounds would be coming out.”

Hillsborough Mayor Jenn Weaver, who is a member of the Northern Orange NAACP branch, was also on the call. She described what happened next to 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck.

“It really felt like an all-out assault,” she said. “It was audio, video and other still images. Plus, the chat box was taken over and made to look as if legitimate participants in the meeting were saying these racial slurs.”

Some of the content flashed on-screen was more KKK imagery, photos of President Donald Trump campaign graphics and pornographic videos.

While the NAACP members ended the Zoom call before long to end the hackers’ efforts, it wasn’t long before community members heard what happened. A group called Hillsborough Progressives Taking Action scheduled an emergency demonstration that evening to voice support of Black and Latinx community members and speak out against their suppression.

Strong said that reaction from community members is reflective of the movement seen locally and nationally these last few months. She described it as a shift in the way we’re thinking about race and community and it’s one that, she believes, is headed in a favorable direction.

But Strong also said there’s much work to be done in battling blatant displays of intimidation and white supremacy.

“Let’s not forget,” said the activist, “it was less than a year ago the KKK themselves were in Hillsborough, they selected [the town for recruitment.] For two weeks after, they would leave behind propaganda with racial harassment and violent language. Something is happening here, and we need to be proactive in thinking about it and addressing it.”

Weaver said the incident was reported to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, with the NAACP chapter also doing further research to learn how to prevent this from happening again.

“It is my understanding that the leadership of the Northern Orange branch is looking into what avenues to pursue and find out where this attack came from,” said Weaver, “and what, if any, laws might have been broken.”

In the meantime, Strong said the town hall will be rescheduled soon, with more precautions taken to prevent such incidents. She said she hopes Sunday’s event serves as a reminder to Orange County residents unaware of such outright racism locally.

“I hope that it helps them see this is not just the story of Black people, the NAACP or even a story of emboldened rage,” she said. “This is a story of who we are as a community and what we can do to make this community one we love and we [all] want to stay in for a long time.”

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Northern Orange NAACP VP Calls for Change Following Racism at Virtual Event

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