A series of hate crimes have plagued the US even as they together with the world are raising their voices against hate crimes, institutional racism, and police brutality. People are demanding justice, and the sentencing of a Brooklyn white man who stabbed a 57-year-old Black woman and hurled racial slurs at her as she was walking to a subway station in 2018 has come just in time.
According to CNN, Aleksejs Saveljevs, 34, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for pleading guilty to first-degree attempted assault as a hate crime on Wednesday, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a press release.
“This defendant viciously assaulted a fellow subway rider for no other reason than the color of her skin,” Gonzalez said. “Acts of hate are not tolerated in Brooklyn, a place that prides itself on the diversity of its communities. I hope this sentence sends a clear message that racism and intolerance are unwelcome here.”
The victim at the time was heading towards the entrance of the subway when the perpetrator lurked behind her till, he began stabbing her in her shoulder and arms. According to eyewitness reports, when questioned about the stabbings, Saveljevs just responded by hurling a variety of racial slurs.
After the ordeal, the victim went home but was later admitted at the hospital and treated for a collapsed lung.
Saveljevs also pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted assault for attacking an off-duty police officer and received an additional sentence of two to four years, CNN notes. He will now serve both sentences concurrently.
According to reports Saveljevs struck the officer, who was walking with his dog, with a sharp object and he incidentally suffered a broken cheekbone after the attack.
In a separate development, a black family in Florida was the target of America’s nasty racism for decorating their home with posters of their twin daughters in celebration of their stellar academic performance.
When identical twins Xanah and Xarah graduated from Yulee High School in their Jacksonville, Florida, suburb with straight As, their father David Sproul, decorated his home with posters of his daughters to acknowledge their dedication for knowledge.
“It’s time to take those hideous posters of that ugly fat black girl down off your house,” the anonymous letter read, referring to the posters displayed on the Sprouls’ home.
“What a disgrace to the neighborhood,” the letter continued, adding: “In fact, your entire brood is a disgrace to the neighborhood. Consider moving to a ‘hood’ of your kind. Your neighbors are watching you!”
Sproul was left angry and motionless while his wife was in tears. Their crime—they are blacks, thus not allowed to celebrate the achievements of their daughters as done by other residents of the Timbercreek Plantation subdivision in Yulee, Florida.
“I would say that was coldblooded because it was directed about kids. Even if it wasn’t about race, to do something like that to a child, say something like that to children is terrible,” Sproul told NBC News.
He and his family have been living in the neighborhood for five years and never experience such brazen hatred.
“I started reading the letter out loud to my wife and she thought I was joking. And I’m like, ‘There’s no way I would ever say that about my daughters,’” Sproul told BuzzFeed News. “And so she grabbed the letter and she read it and instantly got furious and confused.”
The hateful letter was shared on Facebook by Sproul’s wife, Toya with the caption: “Racism is alive but we ain’t scared!!!! This showed up in my mailbox today.”
The family filed a police report with the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.
“We at the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office do not tolerate racism and hate crimes in our county,” Undersheriff Roy Henderson said in a statement.
“This is out of character for Nassau County and we will continue to investigate this incident. We are proud of the Sproul twins’ accomplishments and hope to get to the bottom of this soon.”
A drive-by parade for the twins is planned on Thursday and it has drawn over 360 responses.
