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Oct 26, 2009 11:14 pm US/Pacific
NAACP Joins Fight Against Noose Hanging In Yard
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
The shocking sight of a noose hanging at a house on a busy street drew media attention and protestors last week, but now the NAACP is calling for a criminal investigation against the homeowner.
The Watt Avenue home drew criticism almost immediately after displaying a noose in the same display as a Confederate flag, and members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People are looking into legal action that will force the display to the ground and put the home's owner behind bars.
"Immediately I thought this could not be happening in 2009," said Betty Williams of the NAACP. "I thought it was a joke -- a cruel joke at that."
"Here at the NAACP collectively, we all agree this is a hate crime. This is considered racism to the highest," she added.
Protestors picketed homeowner Jimmy West's property on Friday, but his admitted use of the "n-word" to describe them sent emotions running high.
"That is true, but I threw in the word ignorant," West said on Friday. "They were very uneducated about the Civil War."
A new state law says hanging a noose on someone else's private property or some public property a hate crime, but the law says nothing about a homeowner hanging such a sign himself.
The display is certainly offensive, but it may not be illegal. That isn't stopping the NAACP from demanding action.
"Take it down now," Williams said. "It's offensive to me, to the people I represent, and we do not appreciate something like that hanging on a public street."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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