Winter Whittaker
Richmond, VA — Winter Whittaker, a single Black mother from Virginia, says she feared for her life after her landlord, Dean Parsons, made derogatory comments and used racial slurs at her when she was just asking him for necessary repairs to the home she was renting from him.In an audio recording that Whittaker took of their conversation, Parsons can be heard cursing and using the N-word on Whittaker when she requested repairs after noticing leaks in the ceiling when it rained. She has asked him several times for repairs, he would provide some temporary fixes but it wasn’t enough to solve the issue so she would have to call again.
“Rodents, fleas. It would leak constantly, in my bedroom, in my living room. The hole inside the house, it was leaking from the gutters. That was the final straw for me,” she told NBC 12.
Every time she called, she has experienced such rudeness from the landlord. “He was like ‘If you don’t like it, move.’ I was like ‘ok, it’s easy for you to say move.'”
Even before that, she said Parsons has been hostile towards her.
“I moved here and then five days later, he called me the first ‘B-word’. For five months, I continuously was abused with the ‘B-word’ every time I called him about a complaint. He was like ‘You complain too much. You can get the hell out of my house,'” she said.
Whittaker, who is a single mother to two children, feared for her life knowing that her landlord has the keys to the house. So she decided to record their next conversation.
When she mentioned about her request, Parsons responded with, “I didn’t hear a good God d—- thing you said because you don’t mean sh** to me.”
Parsons continued throwing curses and racial slurs at her until she threatened, “I’ll see you in court then.”
“I don’t give a good God d—. You’re just another dumb a– n—– I got to go to court with and I go to court every damn day with them,” Parsons said.
With the recording as a piece of evidence, Whittaker sought legal help and hired attorney Helen Hardiman who claimed Parsons actions violated Virginia’s fair housing laws.
However, they did not have to go to court anymore as the two parties reached a mutual agreement to settle the matter. The details were not disclosed but it was confirmed that no lawsuit was filed.
When Whittaker finished her lease, she moved to a new house with a new landlord. She hopes her story will prevent Parsons and other landlords from neglecting their responsibilities and from racially attacking others.