Brooklyn neighborhood outraged over racially offensive Halloween window display
CLINTON HILL, Brooklyn -- Neighbors in Brooklyn are outraged after the owner of an art studio put up a racially offensive Halloween window display.
In the windows were brown paper dolls hanging with strings around their necks and feet.
A protest was held in the neighborhood Thursday night.
"It's either willful ignorance or at worst it's racist," said parent Kirsten John Foy.
The images, which were displayed in a window of the studio owner's home, not at the studio itself, have been removed.
But the anger persists. Is it possible the artist didn't understand how offensive this would be?
"There's no way unless you have been living under a rock for the last 40 years that you could even imagine putting a picture of black children hung by a rope and think that was ok," said pastor Rev. Jason Henrickson.
"No adult could be ignorant of that. Even a child wouldn't think of nothing heinous as killing children," said parent Medina Salaam.
"This is as serious as a swastika going up, this is as serious as a noose hanging, this is as serious as a burning cross," said another resident.
The artist, Dany Rose, is one of the owners of ArtShack Brooklyn.
She posted an apology that said, "I now realize the harm and hurt caused by the unacceptable imagery in my Halloween decorations. They were made out of brown craft paper and were racially offensive."
But on Thursday night, not many were open to the apology, with neighbors saying 'the facility has to go'.
----------
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
