On May 1, a family from Vacaville, California found a letter in their mailbox, and now the whole nation is speaking about it. The words typed on that piece of paper shook Marc Yu and his family to the core, because they never thought they would be unwelcome in the neighborhood where they moved recently only because of their race. The latter said it was written on the behalf of the whole community.
Apparently, their neighbors didn’t want them near by and told them to move places. The letter was offensive and full of racist comments. The Yus couldn’t believe there were still people out there who were bothered by someone’s race and skin color.
“The community is making this request that you find another place to live,” the note read. “… your interracial family is not welcome here.”
The person or people writing the letter said how the place was having certain standards and this interracial family simply didn’t fit any of them.
“The Meadowland is an older neighborhood with established residents living in this area for over 20 years,” it continued. “We pride ourselves for the cleanliness and quiet atmosphere in the area. Very little crime as well. The community is making this request that you find another place to live. Renters like yourselves cannot possibly afford a home in our area … This is not the ghetto.”
Marc is of Chinese and Filipino descent and his wife Sandy is a Mexican American. But this family isn’t any different from the rest of the 17 percent of mixed-race families in the U.S. They’ve never experienced anything similar before, where they would be judged based on their appearance and heritage. This came as a shock especially because it happened in California, where the greatest number of interracial marriages are registered.
“We may sound harsh,” the letter continues, “but your interracial family is not welcome here. We will contact your landlord and tell them to evict you if you don’t vacate in the next 60 days.”
Marc believed what was written wasn’t what everyone though of them, as most of the neighbors seemed very welcoming and nice. He though he should share the letter on Facebook after which it went viral. Along with it, Marc wrote, “It’s 2019. This is what came in the mail sticking out my mailbox. I own my home, so I can’t wait for them to contact the ‘Landlord, I can’t believe this sh*t still happens.” People were equally shocked by the content of the letter as the Yus were.
Some of the comments were that what the neighbors did was “despicable, irresponsible, and un-American.” Someone even advised Marc to contact the authorities.
Fox 40 spoke to some of the neighbors and they all had nice words to say about Marc and Sandy. One of them even said how they are amazing and generous people as they once welcomed “homeless grandparents and a grandson, along with two women who struggled to find a place to live.”
“We just try to keep our kids to understand the raw value of things and understand what’s right and what’s wrong,” Yu told the outlet. “Not everybody is a bad apple. There’s more good people than there are bad people.”
What are your thoughts about this story? Do you believe that we, as a country, still have a long road to go before we get rid of racism completely?
Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.