Hendrix started a fundraiser on the Christian crowdsourcing platform GiveSendGo called “Help Me Protect My Family” in the days after the public outcry.
She said her personal information had been released, her family had been “attacked,” and she might have to move.
By Sunday, May 4, Hendrix had raised nearly $624,000 of her initial $50,000 target, and she has since increased it to $1 million.
The fundraising was immediately inundated with comments from those who sympathized with Hendrix and expressed racist opinions. GiveSendGo disabled the public comments section because of the nature of the messages.
The platform’s creator, Jacob Wells, said in a statement to The Washington Post that it had no control over the motivations of campaign organizers or funders and hence disassociated the company from their opinions.
Hendrix thanked supporters in a fundraiser update, stating, “I’ve never felt so scared, yet reassured in my life.”
However, detractors claim that the campaign is making money out of hatred and that the nation’s profound racial divisions are reflected in the public’s reaction.
