Lynching scene in model railroad at Nevada shopping mall draws criticism, protests

Protesters are asking for an apology to the Black community after a model train display at a Nevada shopping mall depicted a Black man about to be lynched, local news outlets reported.

The display, located at the Galleria at Sunset Mall in Henderson, included various railroad scenes installed by the Las Vegas Garden Railway Society, the Las Vegas Sun reported. Among those scenes was one showing three white people about to hang a Black person, according to the outlet.

“There was a display, a train display, of a Black man standing on a galley with his hands tied behind his back in front of a noose,” said Rev. Robert Bush, President of the National Action Network in Las Vegas, according to KSNV. “Cowering down is not an option, standing down is not an option, the only option is no racism.”

The railway scenes were displayed in the mall on May 30 and taken down on July 5 after drawing criticism from viewers and activists, including members of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Action Network, the American Civil Liberties Union and Service Employees International Union’s local chapter, 8 News Now reported.

In a letter, the National Action Network said community members were “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,” the outlet reported.

The display was also condemned by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, who addressed it in a Tweet.

“Racism has no home here in Nevada,” Sisolak wrote. “This is completely unacceptable and our community deserves answers.”

Sue Jerrems, president of the Las Vegas Garden Railway Society, told The Las Vegas Sun that members of the group didn’t mean to offend anyone and said the figure was “nondescript,” not Black.

“We never looked at it as a Black man before,” Jerrems told the outlet. “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.”

But Lindsey Kahn, director of public relations for Brookfield Properties, the company that owns the mall, said officials were “horrified” to learn about the display and immediately demanded that it be removed. She also said the mall will never work with the railway society ever again, The Las Vegas Sun reported.

Community activists are asking that members of the railway society take sensitivity training to prevent incidents like this in the future, 8 News Now reported. But Jerrems said she doesn’t believe that’s necessary and that the group did the right thing by taking the display down, KSNV reported.

“We will no longer be associated with the Galleria Mall since it seems as if all our work has only hurt many of our members who only wanted to do something nice for their community,” Jerrems added in a letter to the Galleria, according to KTNV. “Hopefully, this will be enough to appease the community leaders who may not realize the harm they have caused our friends and club members with this controversy.”

Paula McDonald, an adviser with the National Action Network, told the Las Vegas Sun that Black slaves and railroad workers helped construct railroads in the late 1800s, and that the display could have taught people about that history instead of displaying a lynching.

Members of the National Action Network and other community activist organizations say they plan to protest any future displays by the Las Vegas Garden Railway Society until they receive an apology.

The Galleria at Sunset Mall did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News. But a page on the mall’s website dedicated to the railway society’s displays was no longer available as of July 13.

Henderson is about 15 miles south of Las Vegas.