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Here Are The Racist Emails Ferguson Officials Passed Around

Protesters demonstrate against racism in the "Reclaim MLK" march on Jan. 19 outside the Ferguson Police Department.
Michael Thomas
/
AFP/Getty Images
Protesters demonstrate against racism in the "Reclaim MLK" march on Jan. 19 outside the Ferguson Police Department.

The Justice Department's investigation into the Ferguson, Mo., police department reveals a series of racist emails passed around between Ferguson police officers and court officials.

The senders aren't identified by name, but the DOJ says commanders, police officers, and court officials were all involved.

Below are seven emails that the Department of Justice uncovered — it found more, but only published the ones below.

  • A November 2008 email stated that President Barack Obama would not be president for very long because "what black man holds a steady job for four years."
  • A March 2010 email mocked African-Americans through speech and familial stereotypes, using a story involving child support. One line from the email read: "I be so glad that dis be my last child support payment! Month after month, year after year, all dose payments!"
  • An April 2011 email depicted President Barack Obama as a chimpanzee.
  • A May 2011 email stated: "An African-American woman in New Orleans was admitted into the hospital for a pregnancy termination. Two weeks later she received a check for $5,000. She phoned the hospital to ask who it was from. The hospital said, 'Crimestoppers.'"
  • A June 2011 email described a man seeking to obtain "welfare" for his dogs because they are "mixed in color, unemployed, lazy, can't speak English and have no frigging clue who their Daddies are."
  • An October 2011 email included a photo of a bare-chested group of dancing women, apparently in Africa, with the caption, "Michelle Obama's High School Reunion."
  • A December 2011 email included jokes that are based on offensive stereotypes about Muslims.
  • Update at 8:45 p.m. ET: Ferguson Mayor James Knowles said Wednesday that three employees were put on administrative leave after the Justice Department uncovered the emails. One of the employees has since been fired.

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Rigoberto Hernandez