You have no proof that the white boat people even knew that the person they were initially taunting and cursing was black. You say that the black riverboat co-captain tried communicating by loudspeaker; it is actually most likely that the white boat people did not know that the person speaking to them was black. Did any of those white people use racist slurs, and when? That would help determine whether they actually knew. Of course, once the black riverboat co-captain landed, they knew, but by then the white boat people were already very well riled up by their own evidently very toxic earlier behavior. So, what I'm saying is: You haven't presented any proof that there was a racial dimension to this incident. Those white people sound like they are jerks to everyone regardless of race.