Neighbourhood outraged over 'sickening' Halloween display
A community is outraged over a ‘sickening’ Halloween display, accusing the homeowners of bigotry and racism.
The controversial display featured what what appeared to be an African American man hanging from a noose on a tree in a front yard in Alabama, US.
US woman Alexus Cumbie posted the image on Facebook, stating that the display looked like a “fake display of a lynching” of an African American person.
According to the Tuskegee Institute, approximately 4743 people were victims of extrajudicial killing, or “lynching”, in the United States between 1882 and 1968.
Many of these killings occurred by way of public hangings.
“A friend of mine was driving through Homewood, Alabama today and witnessed a sickening display in the front lawn of a home,” Ms Cumbie wrote on Facebook over the weekend.
“The owner of this display has refused to take this down.
“I’m encouraging everyone to share this post until Birmingham news outlets cover this.
“I’m not encouraging violence nor harassment on this homeowner.
“Let’s not meet bigotry at eye level but also let’s publicly condemn acts of racism in our beloved neighbourhoods.”
The post has been shared over 7000 times, attracting outrage from the neighbourhood.
“Just plain terrible and disgusting!” one Facebook user posted.
“People are really sick in this world,” another user wrote.
“Mean-spirited and insensitive,” one Facebook user commented.
“You can celebrate Halloween however you please but why ridicule and shame, disrespecting another race, that is beyond stupid,” another wrote.
The home owners, Jennifer and Marc Wolfe, claim that they only became aware of the public reaction on Sunday morning and promptly removed the display from the yard.
“We’re not racist. Did I make a mistake? I guess so,” Mr Wolfe told local outlet The Birmingham News.
“I can see their point but we just hung it because that’s how it came.
“If they want to say we’re insensitive and should have known better, I’ll own up to that.”
The couple told the outlet that when they bought the decorations, they assumed it was a white man who had been badly burned.
Sachi Feris from Brooklyn, New York, urged parents to not allow their little girls to dress up as Disney’s Moana character for Halloween because it is based on “real history and a real group of people”.
