Message outside Black woman's East Bay home probed as hate crime

San Leandro - An East Bay woman is in anguish after someone spray-painted "No Black" on the fence outside the first home she's ever owned.

"I want to ask them, why not ‘No Blacks?’ Why not? Why am I not welcome here?" said Sonia Reed.

Homeless to homeowner

The backstory:

Reed is a peer support and recovery specialist and Narcotics Anonymous volunteer who's been recognized for her work after kicking a crack cocaine and alcohol addiction 17 years ago. She was once homeless. She has a collection of mugshots from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, where she also helps inmates. 

"I know that sometimes people can look at me and misjudge me, but once you get to know me, I plant gardens, I go to work, I come home, I engage with my grandchildren," Reed said. 

She's angry and heartbroken.

"I consider whoever put this, is ignorant. They don't know any better," she said.

Investigation underway

What's next:

As KTVU spoke to Reed, Alameda County sheriff's detectives Roland Chevalier and Jawad Hammad canvassed the neighborhood for leads, interviewing neighbors and looking for surveillance video. 

The sheriff's office is investigating the incident as a hate crime.

"Every crime is serious, but it's very important, especially for hate crime, we don't want any violence or anything to erupt," said sheriff's Sgt. Roberto Morales. "We want to make sure our community stays safe. We want to make sure our community feels safe."

Reed said he had an inkling that some neighbors had some issues with her from the beginning. She said one woman told the man who sold Reed her home, "You didn't get my permission to sell this house to anybody of color."

Reed said that same woman took offense when a contractor primed Reed's fence with white paint. 

"My dream was to build a house and make it a white picket fence," Reed said.

Cynthia Adams, president of the Oakland NAACP said, "We can live anywhere we want to live. It doesn't matter what race you are. It doesn't matter what color you are. If you have the money to move to that area, you have the right to live there."

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan