Protests erupt after racist train display in Las Vegas
Community groups are demanding an apology after a display at a local mall depicted a racially insensitive image. (KSNV)
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 A model train display in the Galleria at Sunset Mall in Las Vegas, Nevada has been taken down following complaints of racism.

The display featured two trains rolling on tracks around various scenes, one of which was three white people preparing to hang a Black man. The display was created by The Las Vegas Garden Railway Society and was up from May 30 to July 5.

YouTube video

The president of the Las Vegas Garden Railway Society, Sue Jerrems, apologized for the display, saying they never meant to offend anybody. “We never looked at it as a Black man before,” Jerrems told the Las Vegas Sun. “It was just part of a frontier scene. It had no racist implications. Once someone pointed out the implications of it, we took it down. We apologized.”

 Residents along with the National Action Network(NAN) of Las Vegas expressed their anger with the scene with a protest outside the mall. “Community members are outraged that a racist train display showing a Black man being prepared to be hung was tolerated and allowed at the mall for hundreds of children, families & community members to see,” said NAN in a statement, KLAS reported.

Steve Sisolak, Governor of Nevada, Tweeted about the display Monday, July 11.

Racist train display taken down at Las Vegas mall

The mall is owned by the company Brookfield Properties. The company had apologized by saying that while the mall had approved the train display, they were unaware of the specifics of the display.

Robert Bush, president of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Action Network holds a protest over the railway display that was in the Galleria at Sunset mall. (KLAS)

“We’re truly sorry, we want to apologize to everyone who was offended by this, and everyone should be offended. … We are horrified and truly apologize.”  Lindsay Kahn, the director of public relations for Brookfield Properties, told the Sun.

Brookfield Properties has said that while the Garden Railway Society was cooperative in removing the display, the mall would not be working with them again in the future.

Kesean Cleveland is an an intern at The Black Wall Street Times. He is a student at Langston University and was born and raised in Oklahoma City. Some of his favorite things include video games, his dog...

3 replies on “Protests erupt after racist train display in Las Vegas”

  1. How the Society could ever think this was okay to be part of their overall exhibit has left me utterly speechless. That the Mall allowed it is appalling. Apologies from the perpetrators are not going to be enough this time!

  2. When she says, ““We never looked at it as a Black man before,” she is pointing out the problem, although she thinks she is proclaiming her innocence.

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