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The Far-Right Cash Machine - Naomi Bethuen
ast April, on a playground in Rochester, Minnesota, a mother named Shiloh Hendrix reportedly called an autistic, five-year-old Black child a racial slur. In a video taken by a bystander named Sharmake Omar, Hendrix is accused of calling the child the N-word, which she does not deny. Claiming that the child took something of her son’s from her diaper bag, Hendrix, when asked by Omar why she doesn’t “have the balls to say it again,” replies by saying, “Fuck you, [N-word].”
The clip shows Hendrix repeating the slur at least three times. When asked by Omar if the child “digging” through her bag justifies calling him the slur, Hendrix’s response is “if that’s what he’s going to act like.” Both Omar and the child were Black and of Somali heritage.
Shortly after the video of the confrontation went viral online, Hendrix set up a campaign on the crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo. “I recently had a kid steal from my 18-month-old son’s diaper bag at a park. I called the kid out for what he was,” the description reads. It goes on to claim that Hendrix has been doxed, her family members are being attacked, and that her “eldest child may not be going back to school.”
“I am asking for your help to assist in protecting my family. I fear that we must relocate. I have two small children who do not deserve this. We have been threatened to the extreme by people online. Anything will help! We cannot, and will not live in fear!” Since then, over 30,000 people have donated to the campaign. Hendrix set a goal of raising $1 million, and at the time of this story’s production, the total amount raised is just shy of $850,000.
Hendrix’s story isn’t unique. Crowdfunding campaigns created by individuals who have publicly committed bigoted, discriminatory, and even violent actions have seen a rise in popularity. Over the past decade, as crowdfunding platforms have increased in popularity, campaigns like Hendrix’s have, too.
The clip shows Hendrix repeating the slur at least three times. When asked by Omar if the child “digging” through her bag justifies calling him the slur, Hendrix’s response is “if that’s what he’s going to act like.” Both Omar and the child were Black and of Somali heritage.
Shortly after the video of the confrontation went viral online, Hendrix set up a campaign on the crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo. “I recently had a kid steal from my 18-month-old son’s diaper bag at a park. I called the kid out for what he was,” the description reads. It goes on to claim that Hendrix has been doxed, her family members are being attacked, and that her “eldest child may not be going back to school.”
“I am asking for your help to assist in protecting my family. I fear that we must relocate. I have two small children who do not deserve this. We have been threatened to the extreme by people online. Anything will help! We cannot, and will not live in fear!” Since then, over 30,000 people have donated to the campaign. Hendrix set a goal of raising $1 million, and at the time of this story’s production, the total amount raised is just shy of $850,000.
Hendrix’s story isn’t unique. Crowdfunding campaigns created by individuals who have publicly committed bigoted, discriminatory, and even violent actions have seen a rise in popularity. Over the past decade, as crowdfunding platforms have increased in popularity, campaigns like Hendrix’s have, too.
https://prospect.org/2026/04/02/apr-2026-magazine-far-right-cash-machine-racist-crowdfunding/
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