Jannique Martinez and protestors/Photo courtesy of Roanoke Times
Jannique Martinez and her family has been suffering racist taunts from her neighbor for over a year. The man next door has been using speakers to engage in a form of harassment for which police claim there is no remedy.
Initially, Martinez said that the neighbor would play loud music at levels that caused her home to shake and rattle. Once she called the police to report the noise disturbance, the racist man began the insults that included monkey noises and racial slurs, reported
NBC affiliate Wavy 10.“Whenever we would step out of our house, the monkey noises would start,” said Martinez. “And it’s so racist, and it’s disgusting.”
The neighbor set up his system where sensors detect when Martinez or family members leave home, and his speakers amplify the racist taunts.
But the harassment Martinez has endured does not end there. Other neighbors are concerned because when Martinez opens her door, the “songs” begin along with a barrage of blinking and flashing lights. Some of the other neighbors have also been assigned their own “song” by the deranged man.
Martinez has reached out to the police about the harassment, and the best they have been able to tell her is that while the behavior is offensive, it is not criminal and their hands are tied. Cops said there’s no remedy for the racist’s shenanigans.
A reported from WAVY tried to speak to the neighbor directly but received no answer.
However, Martinez received both national and local support, and on Sept. 24, a crowd gathered outside the racist’s home to drive home the point that his actions were unacceptable.
After the initial reporting of what Martinez was dealing with, Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, geared towards protecting minorities from harassment, stepped in
, and city officials finally denounced the neighbor’s behavior.Although the neighbor is still playing the sounds, they are now at a decibel that Martinez said is hardly noticeable.
Martinez and her husband are Navy veterans. She is resolute that she and her family will not back down, nor will they move.