Last October 17, 2012, I was horrified to see this effigy hanging from a tree in a neighbor's front yard. I had already read in the newspapers that sights like this were being put up as Halloween decorations. As this was West Hollywood, I did not think the young men who lived in the house were racists. Assuming they did not realize the historical meaning of a hooded man hanging high in a tree I decided to place the following letter on their front gate.
TO THE OCCUPANTS OF XXXX MARTEL AVE
Dear People:
The effigy hanging from the
tree in your front yard is deeply offensive.
It resembles photos of lynchings of black men from trees - that went on
in the South for nearly a hundred years after the Civil War.
These photos were objects of
amusement to racists and of horrible injustice to men and women of
decency. Also, the fact that you chose
to hide the face within a grey hoodie suggests Trayvon Martin is being hanged
in your front yard.
I don’t know if you are being
insensitive or deliberately provocative with this choice of a Halloween decoration. Either way, I would suggest that you take it
down before passersby less polite than myself take offense and act upon
it.
Even if you intended no harm,
I think it unwise to expose whoever lives in your house to consequences brought
about by a misunderstanding.
Sincerely,
A concerned
neighbor
I am happy to report that the next time I passed their house, the hooded man had been taken down and was now sitting disconsolately on their front porch alongside cut-out orange pumpkins and a large black cat.
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