In Northampton, Massachusetts, a woman was hit by a car, and she later told police that the passengers of the hit-and-run vehicle shouted anti-lesbian slurs at her while trying to run her down. A candlelight vigil was held, and a fund for victims of similar hate crimes was established. About six weeks later witnesses came forward to testify that the victim of the hit-and-run was not subjected to any verbal abuse, and there was even some question as to whether she had been hit by a vehicle at all. Upon learning of this, one of the organizers of the protests said that she would still press to establish a fund for victims of hate crime. "It's kind of naive to believe that something won't happen someday."

Not long after, in nearby Amherst, a 13-year-old black girl claimed that she had received racial threats and was later assaulted by two white students in a junior-high-school restroom. The NAACP called a meeting of parents and students to discuss "racism" is Amherst's schools. The day before the meeting was scheduled, however, investigators discovered that the girl's story was fabricated. The meeting still went ahead as planned. As the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported: "Speakers said the girl shouldn't be blamed, and that the incident serves as an opportunity to discuss the issue of race in the schools."

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