Lawnside, N.J. community unites after bias incident

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Two days after Donald Trump became president elect, Lawnside, New Jersey, resident Dawn Hines’ work day was interrupted by a series of calls from an unknown number.

When she finally answered her phone, it was her neighbor who informed her that her backyard fence was vandalized with spray paint depicting male genitalia and the words “I HATE N******. SORRY NOT SORRY.” The neighbor sent her photos of her defaced fence.

“Immediately, when I saw the graphics and exactly, you know, everything that it said and spelled out, I just was a little numb,” she said.

In the more than three centuries of Lawnside’s existence, nothing like this has ever happened, according to residents. Incorporated in 1926, the borough is the Garden State’s only Black antebellum community.

Hines has lived in Lawnside for more than two decades. She believes Trump’s history of incendiary rhetoric on race has emboldened racially motivated attacks.

“I would honestly say that it was done at the heels of the election,” she said.

Her backyard can be seen from a major road that connects to several nearby towns, including Runnemede, Magnolia and Voorhees, and she believes that’s the reason her fence became a target.

“It was strategically placed. It’s so perfect,” said Hines. “Anybody can, you know, just view what was put on there. They wanted to get the message across, and they did.”

Bias incidents have recently hit records in New Jersey

If the incident on Hines’ property is directly linked to the election, Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, said he would not be surprised.

“When you have hate spewing from the very top, what ends up happening is that there’s a trickle down of hate and fear that perpetuates our communities,” he said.

Sinha said that bias incidents, the state’s legal term for hate crimes, could increase as Trump selects cabinet members who share his divisive views.

“I’m afraid that we’re going to see more of that in the second Trump administration and potentially more hate crimes as a result,” he said.