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Steven Monacelli Accused of Racist Harassment by Dallas Activists

Steven Monacelli Accused of Racist Harassment by Dallas Activists
Steven Monacelli | Image by Steven Monacelli/Twitter

Steven Monacelli Accused of Racist Harassment by Dallas Justice Now

A local black activist group has accused a local blogger, Steven Monacelli, of repeatedly targeting them with racist harassment and a far-fetched conspiracy theory that was subsequently debunked.

Dallas Justice Now (DJN) describes itself as “a member-driven project of activists, researchers, and local leaders dedicated to making our city more just” and highlights local minority-owned businesses, among other initiatives.

Dallas Justice Now Representative Speaks on Steven Monacelli’s Twitter

Micah Mitchell, who is black and a representative for DJN, told The Dallas Express, “What is particularly disconcerting to us is that [Monacelli] has an alleged history of domestic violence and has made it very clear on social media that he is a gun owner.”

These comments apparently refer to social media posts on Twitter in which Monacelli brandishes a weapon pointed at the camera and another in which he appears to implicitly threaten likely Democratic party superdelegates during the 2020 primary season. Mitchell also appears, in his mention of domestic violence, to reference a report in which Monacelli was reportedly caught bragging in public about a sexual encounter with a woman.

“We are preoccupied with our general safety and the security of our volunteers and partner businesses when this man makes these racist threats. He is trying to keep us down, presumably on behalf of folks who want to see Black people poor, welfare-dependent, and victims of a school-to-prison pipeline.”

Mitchell continued, “When we talk about building up Black Wall Street in Dallas, building quality schools and safe streets, he and his benefactors become nervous. They want to keep us down and should be condemned for it.”

Mitchell also claimed that Monacelli has actively interfered with DJN’s efforts to uplift local minority-owned businesses in the community.

Monacelli ‘Fired’ from Freelancing with the Dallas Observer

Monacelli wrote an article suggesting that DJN was connected with a separate activist group. After the other group provided evidence that no such connection existed, the post was corrected, and Monacelli was “fired” from continuing his freelancing with the Dallas Observer. He also wrote an article for The Texas Observer, which was closed days later after 68 years in service.

Mitchell claimed to The Dallas Express that, despite being proven wrong, Monacelli continues to harass the group, sometimes using what they perceive as racist tropes and language by mocking the group and appointing himself as the arbiter of correct black opinion.

“As a former theatre major at an elite private college, he represents the worst of white privilege while preaching for others his stated goal of a ‘political revolution’ surely led by lily-white elites,” Mitchell claimed.

Monacelli Seemingly Born into Wealth & Privilege

Research indicates that Monacelli himself appears to come from considerable wealth. The couple who appear to be his parents own a multimillion-dollar home in the pricey Westlake community in addition to other expensive properties. In 2020, the family purchased a Florida home within a luxury golf community.

The family has also maintained an interest in luxury sailing and is currently selling a 58-foot power cruiser for $430,000.

Monacelli’s parents, Gene and Cecilia Monacelli, also purchased a condo within a gated community for him in 2019 by loaning the blogger $236,668. The younger Monacelli “promised to pay … the debt in full not later than October 1, 2024.”

However, by 2021, Monacelli had failed to make any payments on the property, and the loan agreement was modified so that he would pay $1,000 a month to his parents for the continued use of the property.

After graduating from college, it appears Monacelli’s father got him a job at the large business consulting firm Deloitte where he serves as a partner, and where his son worked from 2013 to 2015. He then worked at Google in several positions, including the global business strategy and operations team.

While living in Washington, D.C., Monacelli seemingly lived in a top-floor apartment. In San Francisco, he occupied an apartment with vaulted ceilings and large windows. Since leaving Google, Monacelli has worked as a “freelance strategy consultant.”

“He seems to delight in terrorizing black and brown activists who don’t adhere to his supremacist beliefs,” says Mitchell, who describes a visit from Monacelli to a black female-owned business.

Mitchell also claims that Monacelli has criticized one of DJN’s leaders, Ndure Cain, for moving to Dallas and engaging in activism.

Cain, according to Mitchell, “is Native American and Black … so after years of broken treaties against his ancestors, we think it is wildly inappropriate to interrupt the good work he is doing in communities of color in Dallas.”

“This idea that Ndure, a Native American/Black man is suddenly mislabeled and misrepresented as a transplant is insulting but to be expected … given the history of this country we call the United States of America,” Mitchell expressed.

Ndure Cain Deemed Monacelli a ‘Racist White Vigilante’

Cain has previously denounced Monacelli as a “racist white vigilante” who “owes me and my brothers and sisters an apology for his constant attacks on our character,” referring to Monacelli’s focus on the black and brown activist group and his alleged efforts to inflict his personal brand of justice on this group.

“He has attacked our policy position on charter schools … yet he [wouldn’t] be caught dead attending or teaching in these failing public schools and he sure as hell didn’t go to a failing [public] school,” Mitchell claimed. “He has no real idea what the consequences of sending a child to these schools [are].”

Monacelli attended Colleyville Heritage High School before matriculating to Northwestern University. He received a bachelor’s degree in theater, perhaps prompting his current blogging activities.

Mitchell continued, “Black people and their culture are not monolithic. Not all of us think the same way. Some of us are progressive, others conservative, others Democrat and still others Independent and vote on how a politician will best serve the narratives that are most important to them.”

“But with everything that has happened to struggling Black families in Dallas in the last two years, the violence, the disparity, the unheard needs,” Mitchell concluded, “Steve wants to keep pointing fingers at people of color working on the DJN campaign.”

A review of his various social media platforms shows that Monacelli has routinely enjoyed traveling both domestically and abroad. In the past several years, he has taken trips to resorts in Aspen and Tahoe, stayed at luxury hotels in Nashville, and visited Japan, Singapore, Toronto, Paris, and Mexico.

His social media posts seemingly confirm an interest in sexual humor, sharing an image of a “pencil d*ck,” joking about “gettin dirty” at a Kum & Go gas station, and claiming to stay at an apartment used as a “photo studio for a tasteful gay pornographic magazine.”

Monacelli Mid-Lawsuit with the City of Dallas

Monacelli is also in the midst of a lawsuit with the City of Dallas over allegations of “violating his rights under the U.S. Constitution, including protections against the use of excessive force and unlawful arrest.” The lawsuit claims that the blogger was unlawfully detained and injured by police during a protest in 2020.

Dallas has answered by suggesting such claims are “bereft of factual allegations to state a plausible claim to relief, or enough facts to permit a reasonable inference that … the City acted with deliberate indifference to Plaintiff’s constitutional rights.”

A motion to dismiss the case is scheduled to be heard in April.

The Dallas Express reached out to Monacelli by email and asked him about the accusations of racist harassment, the specific phrases or statements that may have been construed as such, and whether he’s currently employed. He did not respond by the deadline.

Disclosure: The Dallas Express has previously sued The Dallas Weekly and Mr. Steven Monacelli, a local blogger, for making false and defamatory statements.

Note: This article was updated on March 23, 2023, at 10:10 a.m. to correct an error. 

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20 Comments

  1. Bill Nelson

    He calls Dallas the city of hate and nut country. He hates the city he supposedly reports on.

    Reply
    • John Gault

      Which “He” are you referring to?

      Reply
  2. Wrath

    Just reading from a non biased position (I don’t know of or have read anything by Monacelli)… this reads like a crafted progressive hit piece by DE. The detail about his parents and his education is amazing. Only thing missing is what he had for breakfast. Is he a bad guy…maybe but this over the top article make one wonder what the heck the excited histrionics is all about.

    Reply
    • MICHAEL P HAMMER

      Which one is the progressive?

      Reply
  3. Bill

    Instead of alluding to racist comments made by the man why doesn’t the author of this article post a few examples of them? I suspect it’s because the comments are only racist to people that are looking for racism in everything. From the online footprint of the man this article is about it appears that he is an elitist Democrat plutocrat.

    Reply
  4. ThisGuyisTom

    Steven Monacelli sounds like a real jerk. I despise people with this type of character.

    Reply
    • Bill

      Out of curiosity I looked at the man’s online footprint and outside of a little bit of crude humor I couldn’t find anything that is really all that offensive or overtly racist. I suspect that there is a personal Grudge between the author of this article and the man being discussed in the article.

      Reply
      • R Reason

        Steven Monacelli is the Texas Observer’s Special Investigative Correspondent, based in Dallas. He wrote a piece last week, titled, “The ‘Dallas Express’: Your Go-To Source For Right-Wing Astroturf News”

        Reply
  5. Rick

    When did Colleyville Heritage become ‘elite’ and ‘private’?

    Reply
    • Bill

      When someone is trying to talk trash about another person whom they simply do not like.

      Reply
    • MICHAEL P HAMMER

      I think they mean Northwestern U

      Reply
  6. Anna W.

    Mr. Mitchell, please read Micah Chapter
    6:18. You are talking to a fool. Who cares about him brandishing a weapon, we are just not they stupid to do it in front of a camera.

    “When you speak about “Black Wall Street ” or you talking about Tulsa Oklahoma. Why don’t you ask you appointed CITY COUNCILMAN OR COUNCILWOMAN why your streets or so bad and your schools so poor. You have a School Board Representative. I grew up poor my husband and I but we didn’t focus on being poor forever.

    We have 5 children all educated and no student loans. We live modestly and drive older cars. But we take care of them.

    Indigenous people and black slaves all marched to Oklahoma together because the indigenous people enslaved runaway slaves. Your neighborhood need to attend City Council and School Board meetings the Churches attended the meetings. We have plenty available jobs, if people work hard, they can make a difference. Mr. Moncacell is an idiot and you shouldn’t be gravitating too an Idiot.

    Mr. Mitchell contact those people you put in office, then VOTE on May 6th and walk the blocks.

    Reply
    • Janet

      I agree. Reminds me of an adage my mother always used. ” Don’t try to be rational with an irrational person”. Luckily we still live in a country where we have the right to be fat, drunk, and say stupid things. You are right about voting too. As OBAMA would say when people would boo if he mentioned right wing nut cases, “Don’t boo, VOTE!”

      Reply
    • Micah

      Hi and thank you for your counsel, Anna W.

      Trust that I listen to my elders with care, respect and concern for the future generation…and that does not hinge on who you vote for, it has more to do with the nuance of your experience.

      We never reached out to SM.

      He harassed our platform of advocacy and we only focus on doing what it takes to make the disparate areas of Dallas a better place. The issue I had with him is that he gets off on leftist dogpiling and redlining us from our own communities.

      On social media this means our weeks and weekends were consumed by harassment and people ready to villify us in an ideological court of public opinion when they were located well outside of Dallas, Texas.

      All because we refused to lower ourselves to his Leftist litmus test of ideological accountability. Sadly, as an after effect of social technology, there has been some distinct misnomers in regards to who can and who cannot participate in work regarding social justice.

      Americans deserve a choice of which social justice platform they would find themselves aligned with.

      We could not tolerate these extremist’s intent to rob us of our platform of ideas that we stand on to make our communities better, safer and part of the American fabric.

      Also: Please keep in mind that we don’t break laws and we maintain a fair focus on what we need to get our people the help, support, love and encouragement they need.

      Have a good week and stay safe.

      PS: Moving forward he is blocked from our platforms because he reaches out to argue about policy in bad faith.

      Reply
  7. John Gault

    Not a very well reported or researched piece. Obviously a grudge piece because in the last sentence it is mentioned that the Dallas Express is involved in a lawsuit against Monacelli. That should have been mentioned in at least the first or second paragraph.
    Other points in the piece are not clearly made by not mentioning the other activists groups by name that were allegedly working together.
    Basic journalism requires facts to be included in a story. There are too many vague references in this story for it to be taken seriously. Please take a refresher course in basic journalism and rewrite the story with more facts and less speculation. If this person is as bad as you make them out to be then all the facts on both side should be disclosed so we the public can make an informed decision.

    Reply
  8. Carla Weems

    Ugh, yet another “blogger” who realizes he/she has a forum for a growing number of readers/listeners and decides to abuse them by indoctrinating them with his racist beliefs. This is exactly the reason I don’t give credence to “bloggers” because they are just simplistic individuals, they have no degree, no real education, and all they want to do is collect money for their furtherance of buying materialistic things for their own purpose. Bloggers = bums.

    Reply
  9. Bob

    I don’t understand why you can’t ignore both of these idiots. Monacelli and Mitchell. I will going forward.

    Reply
  10. MICHAEL P HAMMER

    This is supposed to be newsworthy? I might have to stop my donations if this is what it’s producing.

    Reply

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