By Steve Wartenberg
Of The Morning Call
November 21, 2004
The target of racially motivated, mischief night vandalism for three
years running, Eudes and Jocelyn Defoe were determined to protect their
home on Oct. 30.
The Defoes are one of the few black families in Douglass Township,
Montgomery County.
''We had flood lights installed and planned to be outside all night
this year,'' said Eudes Defoe, adding that their three children, 13, 12
and 11, would remain tucked safely inside their home. ''We were ready
to face whoever came and whatever consequences there were. … I knew my
wife had my back and we had the cell phone with us, preset to 911.''
At about 8:30 p.m., before the Defoes began their mischief night
patrol, a white male in his late teens or early 20s with a shaved head
''attempted to light a homemade cross on fire at the mailbox,''
according to Douglass Township police.
The 4-foot-tall wooden cross was wrapped in cloth and soaked with a
flammable liquid.
A neighbor saw what was going on and shouted at the man, who drove
away, leaving behind the unburned cross and possibly his fingerprints.
''We're waiting for the evidence analysis of the cross,'' said
Detective Dirk Boughter, adding that the state police and FBI are
involved in the hate crime investigation.
The attempted cross-burning has sent shock waves through Douglass and
beyond.
''My reaction is almost visceral,'' said Jennifer Schlegel, chairwoman
of Boyertown Area Unity Coalition, which was founded in 1994 after a
black teenager was harassed in nearby Bechtelsville. ''It profoundly
shakes you when you find out there are members of the community who
are, in essence, being terrorized.''
The township has offered a $5,000 reward for information that leads to
an arrest. According to Supervisor Greg Lignelli, a person who wishes
to remain anonymous has matched that amount and New Hanover Township
has kicked in $1,000, for a total reward of $11,000.
''No one expects this to happen in this day and age, but it's out
there,'' Lignelli said. ''And when it rears its ugly head you have to
come out strong against it and have zero tolerance.''
As for the Defoe family, they are scared, but also refuse to give in to
racists. They say they have been heartened by the response from the
community.
Eudes Defoe is uneasy whenever he leaves his wife home alone.
''Every time a car goes by or slows down, my wife gets scared,'' said
Defoe, who is torn between letting the world know what happened and
shielding his family from publicity. ''We can't live like this and be
fearful in our own home. That's not right.''
Moving to Douglass
Douglass Township is 98 percent white and, according to the 2000
Census, there are 70 black people in the township, up from 33 in 1990.
It is close to Berks County's Boyertown and Bechtelsville, where, in
the 1990s, there were Ku Klux Klan meetings and the occasional
distribution of racist literature on a Boyertown street corner.
''We worked with the community, with schools, with the ministerial
association and with the library to counter them and get our message
across to young people,'' said Louise Doskow of Boyertown Area Unity
Coalition. ''We don't know if the KKK is still active in the area.''
According to Barry Morrison, regional director of the Anti-Defamation
League, the attempted cross-burning is not necessarily the work of the
KKK.
''In most cases it is not members of a hate group doing it,'' he said.
More often, he said, it is someone imitating the symbols used by hate
groups. When they moved from Massachusetts to Douglass in 2000, the
didn't expect any problems.
After all, it was 2000, not 1962, and this was Montgomery County, Pa.,
not Montgomery, Ala.
They came to Douglass because of affordable housing, good schools, and
a convenient commute to Philadelphia and New York for Eudes Defoe, a
regional representative for a tool company.
The Defoes found a nice home, complete with a front porch, back deck
and a large yard for their children, in a medium-sized development.
''We had lived among every race and we never felt any different from
anybody else or had a problem,'' Defoe said. ''We moved here because
the
school district is one of the best and we want to put
the kids in a position where they can be successful in life.''
First incident
The family's idyllic life was turned upside down Oct. 30, 2001, when,
late at night, someone spray painted racial slurs on their front door
and driveway.
On the two following mischief nights, decorations on their house were
targeted.
When they returned from a recent vacation the Defoes discovered someone
had splattered their garage with paint ballsIn each instance, theirs
was the only home in the neighborhood vandalized.
''We decided to keep the kids in the house; they don't go outside any
more,'' Defoe said. ''We try to explain to them there is no reason for
this and you can't reason with unreasonable people when they have it
set in their hearts that black people are the devil. You just try and
live your life and hope these individuals don't cross your path.''
There are three other black families in his development, Defoe said,
adding none of the others has school-age children. Maybe his family has
been targeted, he said, because his children attend school and play
sports, making them more visible.
''Maybe I upset someone in the area; I don't know,'' he said. ''But the
community is becoming more diverse. I'm one of many black folks who
will move into the area. It will happen whether or not people like it.''
Community response
According to Boughter, the police receive tips every day. ''We've
moving forward as opposed to backwards,'' he said of the investigation.
Defoe said handling the hate crime has been made easier by the response
he and his family have received from friends as well as strangers.
Neighbors have stopped by to voice their support and ask what they can
do to help the family.
Next year, on mischief night, several people have volunteered to sit on
his front porch all night.
''They tell us to stick it out, that these idiots are not going to
win,'' Defoe said. ''This says a lot about the community and tells the
individuals this that they won't get what they want.''
Schlegel said members of her group approached the family, and Eudes
Defoe spoke at their last meeting.
''We wanted him to know there are people out here who support them,''
she said. ''The family has exhibited grace under fire.''
The Boyertown Area Unity Coalition, in conjunction with several other
local organizations, is planning a community walk through Boyertown on
Dec. 5.
''Just knowing we're not alone is important,'' Defoe said. ''There's a
network out there to help us fight back.''
Staying put
Fighting back is exactly what Defoe and his family have in mind.
''I will never allow the actions of a small group of people to
interfere with our goals and our dreams,'' Defoe said. ''This is an
obstacle I never thought I'd have to deal with, but we are a strong and
tight-knit family, and through the power of love, adversity can be
overcome.''
steve.wartenberg@mcall.com
215-529-2607
Copyright © 2004, The Morning Call