When an improvised explosive was detonated outside the offices of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Colorado Springs, black leaders were almost certain it was a hate crime.
US congressman John Lewis, an influential leader of the civil rights movement, tweeted: "I am deeply troubled by the bombing in Colorado. It reminds me of another period. These stories cannot be swept under the rug."
The bombing was reportedly committed by a balding, white American man in his 40s, who drove a pickup truck.
A day later, three Islamic extremists stormed the offices of newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, killing 12 people including journalists and police officers. The Paris shooting has since dominated media outlets, with many news channels providing rolling coverage of the terrorist act.
Frustrated by the lack of coverage on the NAACP bombing, social media users began tweeting out the perceived differences between how white, black and Muslim extremists are treated by the media. The hashtag #NAACPBombing trended worldwide on Twitter on Wednesday.
One black activist and blogger Zellie Imani wrote: "White supremacy means that the #NAACPbombing suspect, though potentially armed & dangerous, will be apprehended unharmed. Because whiteness."
Senior digital at EBONY, Jamilah Lemieux tweeted: "Today's news will assert that a crazy, White outlier attempted to bomb an NAACP office, and that Islam carried out a terror attack in Paris."
The NAACP said in a statement: "The cause of the explosion is still unknown. The NAACP looks forward to a full and thorough investigation into this matter by federal agents and local law enforcement."
Founded in 1909, the NAACP has been historically targetted in the US, particularly by the Ku Klux Klan, for its work during the civil rights movement.
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