Officials agree to reopen
By Milwaukee NAACP office
Yester Years Pub & Grill (Photo by Robert Bell)
The Milwaukee NAACP called upon law enforcement officials to reopen the investigation into the incident in West Allis, Wisconsin, where President Barack Obama was burned in effigy; or in the alternative, appoint an independent law enforcement agency to conduct the investigation.
The Milwaukee Branch NAACP held a press conference on Monday, May 24, 2010, outside of Yester Years Pub & Grill, 9427 W. Greenfield Avenue, Milwaukee, WI.
Following the press conference NAACP officials visited the West Allis police station to request that the police chief reopen the investigation. It was announced on Tuesday following the press conference and meeting that law enforcement officials have agreed to conduct further investigation into the incident.
The Milwaukee Branch NAACP has reason to believe the investigation into the incident lacked the thoroughness typically associated with competent investigations. For instance, the Milwaukee Branch NAACP would like to know whether all known employees and bar patrons present that night were interviewed.
Upon information and belief, the Milwaukee Branch NAACP believes a statue of President Barack Obama was brought inside the bar with the clear intent to set it ablaze. “We believe the owner placed a noose around the neck of the statue. We have reason to believe the noose was made of duct tape and tissue, and braided or otherwise twisted to resemble a noose. We believe the owner was warned by several people not to set the statue ablaze. We believe the owner disregarded these warnings and poured a combustible liquid (believed to be Bacardi 151) on the statue. We believe the owner then set the statue and noose on fire. At the time of the fire there were several patrons and employees in the establishment.” said NAACP president Jerry Ann Hamilton.
According to the local NAACP, the owner shamefully led others to believe this act was a bad joke committed by inebriated patrons. For what it is worth, this does not appear to be a “Cuervo Gone Wild” incident, but a premeditated attempt to use combustible liquids to start a fire inside a drinking establishment during business hours. This sort of disorderly behavior cannot and should not be tolerated.
“We are disturbed that incidents of hate continue to be tolerated in our community. Prior to the November 2008 presidential election, racist mailers were sent to voters discouraging them from voting. No charges were filed. Days before the 2008 election, vandals painted red numerals “666” on Obama/Biden signs in Whitefish Bay neighborhoods. No charges were filed. On November 3, 2008, a poster depicting a bullet travelling towards the head of President-elect Barack Obama was found in a City of Milwaukee Police Station. No charges were filed. Now, a bar owner affixes a simulated noose around the neck of a statue of President Barack Obama; the owner then uses a combustible liquid to set the statue and noose on fire; and we are once again informed that no charges will be filed. This lackadaisical attitude is unacceptable.” Hamilton contends.
There has been a clear escalation of hostilities towards the President in this community. The escalation is due in part to the failure of prosecutors to take these activities seriously.
“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We encouraged all people to join us in condemning these activities.
Excusing this behavior sets a dangerous precedent. Do other bar owners now have carte blanche authority to use their readily available combustible liquids to start fires within their establishments during operating hours?
News headlines, both locally and across the nation, serve as constant reminders of the dangers of fire in drinking establishments. Fortunately, the fire started in this bar was controlled; however, that does not diminish the reckless and disorderly behavior of using combustible liquids to start fires in drinking establishments.
The community will undoubtedly continue to debate whether this incident was the product of racist motivations, or not. In the end, it probably won’t matter to most whether the incident was about race, or was not about race; or whether the burning statue was of the President they voted for, or of the President they did not vote for. To people of good conscience – Caucasian, African American, Latino, Democrat and Republican – it will serve as another sad indicator of how low public discourse has sunk
Regardless of the direction or outcome of these community discussions, it is incumbent upon law enforcement officials to send a strong message that the purposeful use of combustible liquids to start fires inside buildings, particularly bars populated with inebriated patrons, will not be tolerated. Political speech can and often crosses the line into criminal behavior.
For these reasons, we call upon law enforcement officials to reopen the investigation.