A racist display of contempt for Native Americans has been poisoning the minds of motorists and pedestrians along Vine St. in Carthage for over 60 years. The time is long overdue for this longstanding highly degrading caricature of Native Americans, the “Big Indian” sign by Motor- Time Auto Sales, to permanently disappear, and protestors are determined to make that hap- pen.
Over 340 people have already signed a petition, https://chng.it/kzWDsvhxgY, to rid our com- munity of this offensive sign of hate. “Native American people were victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing. We are seeing this first hand in Palestine right now. It is disgusting”, states Damien Dallallo of Cincinnati, “I am joining others in calling for the immediate removal of this degrading monument. Let’s put Cincinnati on the map for the right reasons!”
A protest against this public display of racism in our city will be held on MLK Day, January 15, beginning at 3pm at 7505 Vine in Carthage. Homer Shadowheart of Urban Native Collective, one of the sponsors of the protest, said “It is sad that in 2024 this sign is still able to exist, the indigenous population is forgotten, but we are not gone. If this were a Sambo it would have been removed decades ago.”
Werner Lange of the Ohio Peace Council, initiator of the protest, states that “for the Queen City, the center of so much that celebrates the best in human creativity, to also continue to harbor this public insult to human dignity, is intolerable. The “Big Indian” sign must go.”
