LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A display by the Las Vegas Garden Railway Society shows a Black man with a noose around his neck, standing on a gallows in what they say is a historical depiction of the wild west days of Nevada.
The display was on show for all to see inside the Galleria at Sunset Mall in Henderson over the July 4 weekend.
When a photo of the display began to circulate on social media, emotions erupted and community civil rights activists stepped up and started asking questions.
UPDATE: I spoke with Sue Jerrems, President of the Las Vegas Garden Railroad Society. The group is responsible for the display and says the western display has been around for yrs and she didn't view it as racist. She apologizes if it offended anyone. @KTNV pic.twitter.com/ukSMDCxEq1
— Alicia Pattillo (@aliciapattillo) July 11, 2022
The Las Vegas Garden Railway Society wrote a letter to Galleria Mall regarding this display.
To Whom it May Concern,
While the Las Vegas Garden Railway Society appreciates that you would like to address the
issue which came up during our display at the Galleria, we do not have the time to
accommodate the request since we were only given notice on July 8th.
Since we acted expeditiously in removing the small display which someone found offensive, it
will not be included in the future. We offered our apologies for any perceived offense.
We cannot see anything else which we could do. Nor do we see what the purpose of any
further meetings will accomplish.
We will no longer be associated with the Galleria Mall since it seems as if all our work has only
hurt many of our members who only wanted to do something nice for their community.
Hopefully, this will be enough to appease the community leaders who may not realize the
harm they have caused our friends and club members with this controversy.
LVGRS is a group of people who enjoy sharing our love of trains with the public. We don't get
paid for this as it is all volunteers that make up the club. There was no intent to cause distress
or harm to ANYONE.
