‘Used-Mexicans’ billboard on Texas interstate taken down following community outcry
A mysterious and controversial billboard in Texas was removed Monday following community backlash.
The large billboard was posted along northbound Interstate-35 near New Braunfels — about 33 miles northeast of San Antonio — and had an unusual message in large, bold letters: “Used-Mexicans,” with “.org .com .info” listed underneath, WOAI reported.
It sparked a flurry of responses on social media and was removed after complaints from the community and civil rights leaders, according to San Antonio Express-News.
“It really hurts to see something like this,” one motorist told KENS.
The home page of the website features the same image as the billboard overlaid with text that reads:
“Used (Yoozd) Adj;
(a) deceptively led into a relationship to gain something of worth.
(b) no longer of value, depleted.”
Mex-i-can, N; People of heritage that are good at what they do.”
In its mission statement, the website refers to Hispanic people as “conservative,” and appears to suggest that Hispanic people are being “used” by the left.
The billboard was paid for by Charles Abernathy, 55, who told the Express-News that Hispanics are being used by the Democratic Party and that they should vote for President Trump come November.
“It’s meant to be inflammatory, but, I mean, if I put up a sign and it said, ‘Hispanics for Trump,’ everybody would have just driven past it and gone on about their business,” Abernathy told the newspaper.
Though the billboard was outside city limits, officials in New Braunfels received several complaints about the sign — national leaders with the League of United Latin Americans also contacted the city, KENS reported.
“The billboard is offensive and not representative of our community’s values,” city manager Robert Camareno told the outlet, adding that he contacted the owner of the billboard who said the ad had never been approved.
New Braunfels, a city of about 58,000, is 35% percent Hispanic, according to the city’s website.
When representatives for WOAI told Abernathy the billboard had been removed, he was reportedly surprised. Abernathy told Express-News the billboard had been up for about a month before it was removed.
“The sign referred to Mexicans as ‘used’ and was clearly meant as a racial slur against our community,” LULAC state director Rodolfo Rosales told KENS. “We immediately took action when the hate sign was brought to our attention.”
The person who owns the billboard has since donated the space to LULAC which says it plans to erect a positive message, WOAI reported.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 9:47 AM with the headline "‘Used-Mexicans’ billboard on Texas interstate taken down following community outcry."