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by Griffin Jones
Early this morning, May 5, a second ziplock bag filled with racist caricatures and threats was left at Terry Williams’ door, one block from Alamo Square Park. The bag contained cotton balls, a Ku Klux Klan flag and a printout stating “WE WILL CONTINUE TO EXTERMINATE YOU N— SLAVES” beneath a photo of Williams, who is Black, and racist depictions of Black people from the 1900s.
Williams, a local dog walker, is 49, and grew up in the neighborhood.
Today’s racist mailer comes a week after a similar one containing a blackface doll was left at Williams’ door shortly after midnight on April 26. The incident is being investigated by San Francisco Police as a hate crime.
“I’m fucked up,” said Williams, a mix of exhaustion and anger in his voice. In the past couple days, he had finally begun to regain a sense of calm after a week of canvassing the neighborhood, talking with neighbors and fielding dozens of calls from media outlets.
“I finally got my mind right. I come home, go to sleep — first thing in the morning, that’s what’s down there. And what they said now is even worse.”
On the ziplock left this morning, the suspect wrote: “Comrade, deliver to this n—” above Williams’ address. Details about the suspect remain unknown, and it is unclear if the person who sent the bag is the same person who delivered it and is attempting to make it appear as though they are part of a larger group, or if there are indeed multiple people involved in the incident.
“I’m worried about my family and my safety now,” said Williams, his voice strained. His parents, now in their 80s, live in the apartment upstairs.
According to Williams, the same officer who had taken his statement on April 26 told him: “‘Man, I’m really sorry bro.’ But I’m like — why is there no police sitting outside my house?”
Williams said that footage from a neighbor’s camera showed what appeared to be the same suspect from April 26 delivering the second package just after 3 a.m. on May 5.
“Everyone in Louisiana’s calling, telling me to take a vacation. I’m like vacation where? I’m not leaving my parents! I’m not running from nothing,” said Williams. His family originally hailed from the southern state.
“Even my dogs are being careful now. They sense something’s going on. They’re in protection mode.”
A San Francisco Police Department spokesperson stated that no arrests have been made, and they are “unable to confirm that these incidents are connected.”
Police ask that anyone with information contact SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411, beginning the message with SFPD.
This article was updated Monday, May 6, to include a statement from SFPD.
Griffin Jones is a San Francisco-based freelance writer. She formerly worked at Mission Local, the San Francisco Bay View and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She can be reached at griffinforrestjones@gmail.com.
