Award-winning entrepreneurial couple Rufus and Jenny Triplett. (Courtesy Photo)
By Blacknews.com
Rufus and Jenny Triplett, an award-winning entrepreneurial couple and best-selling authors, have had to deal with racism, cyberbullying and even a lynching threat from Trump supporters via social media. All they aim to do is bring awareness to the racial disparities in America and build their diversity consulting business.
As early as April, when the country shut down and people were at home all day, the Tripletts who have always been vocal and proactive regarding social justice issues, started receiving trolling comments on public social media posts and even more threatening inbox messages from multiple fake accounts. After standing their ground with a zero-tolerance attitude for bullying and disrespect, they were sent a lynching threat via a private message.
Instagram took immediate action by banning the accounts and sending a criminal warning to the account that threatened the lynching. Although the Tripletts, a husband and wife team, are not just relying on the app providers to protect them, the quick and stern actions were appreciated. The attacks received on Facebook were met with the rebuttal strength of the Triplett’s 11,000 plus followers. Several of their connections reached out to the bullies after the Tripletts publicly posted their private threats. Even after blocking innocuous accounts, a few that were blocked reached out to the Tripletts from other accounts.
“America is not a racist country,” says Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina at the Republican National Convention. Her sentiments have been echoed by a list of GOP members as well as blind following Americans. Nothing is further from the truth. As this country is experiencing another racial awakening, in the midst of being post-racial after the Obama years, confirms the cognitive dissonance that radiates from those who chose to ignore and suppress the true actions of racists.
The Tripletts were honored as Ebony Magazine’s Couple of the Year 2012, have appeared on numerous television shows for their book, Surviving Marriage in the 21st Century, and are co-owners of the multimedia company, Dawah International, LLC and RJ Diversity Consulting. They did not brush off the threats as rhetoric but took immediate action.
“I’m not sure why people think that they can sit behind an LED screen and try to bully you via anonymity. That type of audacity is why we’re seeing so many viral incidents of racism. Not only did I formally complain to Instagram, but I called our local police, our county police, our attorney general for consumer complaints and the FBI division for cyberbullying. Melania’s Be Best campaign doesn’t seem to be working for children because their parents are the problem. The way racists keep outing themselves the FBI should keep their job security,” says Jenny.
“We as Black people have been through more in this country than any other race. If someone thinks that they are going to bully and threaten my family, even if it’s just on social media, then they’re not paying attention to what we do. It’s 2020 but I come from a long line of people that do not play when it comes to family. We will continue to do this work for our children and racial equality,” says Rufus.
For more information on Rufus and Jenny, log onto www.RufusandJennyTriplett.com.
