'I will burn your house down with you inside’: Fort Erie woman who is Black receives threatening letter
Community rallies to show support for Natalee Cole, who is terrified by anonymous letter threatening her family
Warning: This article contains content that may be disturbing to some readers.
Natalee Cole can’t help but wonder if it’s her skin colour — and not her taste in music — that prompted a hateful, anonymous letter in which a stranger threatened to burn her Fort Erie home down with Cole and her seven-year-old daughter, Miracle, inside.
Cole, a Black woman in a predominantly white neighbourhood, says she has been living in terror since she received the handwritten letter in her mailbox a week ago, the third such letter from someone demanding that she turn her music down.
The latest letter ramped up the vitriol, demanding she turn her music down “or the neighbours and I will burn your house down with you inside … stop the noise or burn in hell.”
Cole said a number of other letters have also been sent anonymously to Niagara Regional Police and town hall, demanding action be taken against her.
NRP media officer Const. Phil Gavin said police began an investigation into the threatening letter on July 23 and the investigation continues.
For Cole, who moved to the border town two years ago from Brampton, the harassment seems motivated by something other than the karaoke machine in her home that she likes to play.
“I was shocked beyond belief and I was really scared, overwhelmed and wondering why,” she said in an interview. “I feel I’m being targeted. I am a Black woman and I feel this has something to do with it.”
“(But) I can’t afford for them to break my spirit and my happiness,” she said.
Cole said she feels vulnerable, fearful for the safety of Miracle. “Who knows if they’re watching me?” she said. “It’s really creepy.”
But on Saturday, her community showed her that she’s not alone: upwards of 100 people, including many of her neighbours, turned up in front of her home to show her support.
“I love your music,” one woman said, hugging Cole.
“We’re there for you,” said another neighbour, a man who lives behind Cole.
“We want you to know you’re not alone and we’re here for you,” said resident O’Brien Martinez.
Two teen girls brought Cole a package of fresh cookies. “God bless you,” she told the girls.
Cole told some of the visitors that the stress of the threat has taken a huge toll on her and Miracle.
“Emotionally I’m broken,” she said. “It’s traumatizing for a seven-year-old.”
Aidan Barron, who lives a few doors down, said — after telling Cole the community is behind her — that he only found out about the letter the night before. “I was devastated,” he said.
As a white man, he acknowledged he can’t fully understand what people who are Black, Indigenous or people of colour experience in terms of intolerance or racism. “All I can do is say ‘I love you and I support you,’” he said.
Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association (NRARA)’s Saleh Waziruddin said the type of intimidation Cole is experiencing won’t work and will not be tolerated.
“We have seen many Black residents in Niagara targeted by racist neighbours who try to use the police and bylaw enforcement to harass Black people to leave,” he said in a statement.
The NRARA’s Vicki Lynn Smith told the crowd the community needs to collectively stand up against hatred.
“We must fight, fight, fight,” she said.
Martinez, a man of Mexican descent who grew up in Texas, said he knows the sting of racism all too well.
“I’ve been pulled over by the cops and I was scared for my life,” he said. “You get that kind of ugly look when you walk in a restaurant.
“There are too many people who pretend it doesn’t happen.”
Cole told the large gathering, including Mayor Wayne Redekop and Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates, that as rattled as she is, their support is making a difference.
“Just your presence allows me to feel we’re in this together,” she said.
“This stops today,” she said. “I’m taking my power back today.”
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