Pennsylvania home's hanging body decorations spark lynching controversy

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 00:02 · Archive

A Pennsylvania homeowner's Halloween decorations featuring bodies hanging from trees have prompted the Bucks County NAACP to call for their removal.

A homeowner in Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania has installed Halloween decorations featuring phony bodies wrapped in black bags and hung from trees, drawing criticism from civil rights groups and neighbours.

The Bucks County NAACP called on the homeowner to remove the display in a statement, saying the imagery of bodies hanging from trees 'carries a painful historical significance' rooted in lynching and racial terror for black Americans. The organisation emphasised that 'something can be legally permissible and still be profoundly harmful'. It has spoken with the borough council and is encouraging the homeowner to 'voluntarily reconsider the display' rather than seeking forcible removal.

The unnamed homeowner told NBC 10 Philadelphia that he did not intend to offend anyone and had purchased the decorations as a kit online. Some local residents defended the display as typical Halloween decoration, with one saying 'It's Halloween' and comparing it to other scary yard displays. Borough officials confirmed they had reached out to the homeowner but were unsuccessful in persuading him to take the decorations down.

How it is being reported

• NAACP requests Pennsylvania home pull Halloween decorations hanging fake bodies from treesBucks County NAACP said Halloween decorations featuring fake bodies hung from trees evoke lynching and racial terror and urged the owner to remove them.Fox News · 20 Oct, 23:48
• Halloween decorations of hanging bodies outside Pa. home draws lynching comparisons — NAACP demands removalA Pennsylvania homeowner is facing calls to remove his creepy Halloween decorations depicting bodies hanging from trees — with critics comparing the display to lynching victims. The controversial decorations outside the unidentified Bristol Borough resident’s home features phony bodies wrapped in bags hanging from a tree, NBC 10 Philadelphia reported. “I’m just looking at it...New York Post · 20 Oct, 01:29

In this story: Bucks County NAACP · Bristol Borough · Pennsylvania

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