Teens overwhelmed by support
Hundreds gather in Port Colborne to rally against hate crime that targeted the young couple
Racism will not be tolerated in Port Colborne.
That was the message of the 400 people who gathered to rally downtown Friday at the Guild Hall. The hall was wall-to-wall people who came to show their support for the Benner and Hannigan families, who were recent targets of racism.
“We want people to come together and unite as a community to fix this problem,” said Karrie Porter, founder of the Niagara AntiRacism Coalition, which organized the rally.
Many came equipped with signs with messages about love having no colour, ending racism and uniting to support those affected by racism.
The Benners and the Hannigans attended the event and expressed their gratitude for the wave of support they’ve received since their struggle broke the news. Ruby Benner and Jayden Hannigan, both 16 and an interracial couple, were the targets of racism after someone broke into the Benner residence Feb. 15 and spray-painted hateful messages all over the walls.
Tim Benner, Ruby’s dad, said he’s had many, many people approach asking how they can help, even offering to come paint over the spray-paint and to help monetarily.
Shannon Hannigan, mom to Jayden, told the crowd how difficult and hurtful it is to have to try to explain to her 16-year-old son why something like this happened to him.
Jayden’s grandmother, Edna Ayres, called the crime shocking and disturbing and said she tears up when she thinks about it.
“This incident has changed my grandson,” she said. “He was always such a happy-go-lucky kid and always wanting to go out and do stuff. Now, he goes out and he always seems to be looking to see if someone’s watching him.
“He’s 16 years old. He shouldn’t have to deal with this.”
She said she wants people to know her grandson is a good young man.
Jayden was the last to speak at the rally, giving a tearful thank you to everyone who came out. In an interview afterwards, he said the support was overwhelming.
People lined up to give him hugs after the speakers were done, and he said he saw people he hadn’t seen since elementary school. He said he’s also had many messages comes in over social media.
“I’ve been accepting the support and not thinking of myself as different,” he said. “It’s kind of hard to regain that I’m not different than everyone, but it’s starting to get back.”
A few other speakers included women in Niagara who have also faced racism in their lives. One of those women was Nicola Hasmatali from Fort Erie, who said she came all the way to the Port Colborne rally because it is such an important issue that hits close to home.
Hasmatali is the mother of two biracial children and is biracial herself. She said her children don’t look biracial and that her 17-yearold daughter looks white while her 13-year-old son looks black. She’s seen how differently they are treated because of it.
“The first day I realized I was different from anybody else is the first day I came back to school after my sister passed away,” she said, sharing a bit of her own story. “They told me I killed her because that’s what black people do.”
In an interview after she spoke, she said racism is prevalent, but people often turn a blind eye or don’t see it at all. She said the way to fix that is by educating ourselves about these issues.
Both Jayden and Ruby were each given a Canadian flag from Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey as a gesture to say they do belong. He and Port Colborne Mayor John Maloney emphasized Canada celebrates diversity and racism is not OK. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime by Niagara Regional Police.