Friday, October 30, 2009

Halloween "Lynching" Display Taken Down After Protest

A set of three dummies in a "lynching" display were taken down from their positions in a willow tree in a park in Frederick, MD. The local Parks and Recreation Department had hung the three dummies up as a Halloween display. One Frederick resident said:
“It instantly reminded me of the pictures of the lynchings that happened in the ’20s and ’30s in the United States. I found it very offensive as a white person.”
Mayor Jeff Holtzinger first said he would wait to hear from the Parks and Recreation department, but changed his mind after the story was picked up by national media and allegations were made that Frederick is a racially insensitive place.

There were also complaints from residents, as well as the NAACP. Some parents also complained that the dummies were positioned in too public a place where small children might be frightened.

Guy Djoken (pictured), president of the local branch of the NAACP, commended Holtzinger for his decision. The dummies will be made up even scarier and place throughout the part to frighten people, but not hung up.
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