A Black woman who recently purchased a new home in the San Francisco Bay Area was disheartened to learn that someone spray-painted a hateful message on her new property, prompting local authorities to investigate the matter as a hate crime.
After Sonia Reed purchased her first home in San Leandro in December, she started facing harassment from her new neighbors, some of whom called her racial slurs, local news outlets reported.
“The lady came out of her house and told me to my face she did not want to come out of her house and look into my Black face right across the street from her,” Reed told KRON4, calling the encounter a “straight downright attack.”
What she said started as verbal harassment escalated when someone vandalized the fence surrounding her home and used black spray paint to write, “No Black.”
The formerly homeless 52-year-old grandmother called the incident “devastating,” given everything she had achieved to transform her life and improve her financial standing to become a homeowner.
“I was in a first-time homeowner’s buyer program with HUD, so I’ve been repairing my credit,” Reed said. “When I first got connected with the program, my income was $10,700. Now, my income is $87,000. I have increased my credit score from 410 to 810.”
Neighbors gave varying accounts and reactions to news of the racist vandalism.
Van Black, who resides in a home across from Reed’s, stated that he’s lived in the neighborhood for eight years and has never experienced or witnessed racism in the area.
“We’re not in the 1960s, this is 2025,” said Turner. “It’s hard. It’s very hard. Basically, it sent shivers through my spine.”
Another neighbor who has lived in the community for 20 years said his experience has been different. He recalled when one Black family moved out of the neighborhood after some neighbors gave them a hard time.
“It’s just ridiculous,” he anonymously told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The neighbor Reed accused of using a racial slur denied the allegations of harassment and prejudicial conduct. She stated that she had “negative” experiences with Reed and her contractor and accused the 52-year-old of writing the words on the fence.
“They’ve been nothing but trouble,” Julia Bisi said. “My husband is white, I am Mexican, we are clearly not racist.”
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office is now investigating the incident as a hate crime and reported that authorities are interviewing neighbors and reviewing surveillance footage to track down the culprits.
“We take hate crimes very seriously. This is uncalled for, this type of behavior. This type of criminal acts cannot happen in our community,” said Sgt. Roberto Morales.
A local NAACP chapter is also standing by and closely following the investigation.
“We have to educate that neighborhood about racism. Let them know she has a right to live there and stay there,” said Cynthia Adams with NAACP Oakland. “We’re not in the 60s anymore. We are in 2025, and we are going to fight this all the way.”
Reed recounted her struggles with drug addiction and homelessness before she turned her life around. She said she lived out of abandoned cars and buildings for more than a decade and was in and out of jail, where she became sober.
In recent years, she founded a behavioral health organization where she provides peer support and recovery services to people who struggle with mental health and substance abuse issues.
“I come from homelessness, institutions, jails, drug abuse,” Reed said. “I founded an organization. The East Bay Recovery Community so people can come and heal and recover. Not based on the color of their skin.”
Now, she’s temporarily living out of a hotel and said she’s considering selling the home, which is still under construction and she had not moved into.
“I think I’m gonna sell the house,” said Reed. “Staying in that house — I put my kids in danger. I put my grandkids in danger.”
