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8 year oldHe wants to ‘Make America White Again’
Rick Tyler, an independent candidate who hopes to represent Tennessee in the House of Representatives, received plenty of backlash for the sign, being accused of racism and bigotry.
It was pulled down on Tuesday night.
Mr Tyler claimed he had ‘no ill will towards people of colour’ and the sign was meant to provoke nostalgia, not hatred.
The sign was meant to convey the message that America should go back to a “1960s, ‘Ozzie and Harriet,’ ‘Leave it to Beaver’ time, when there were no break-ins; no violent crime; no mass immigration,” Mr Tyler told NBC News affiliate WRCB.
“I believe the majority of the people in the county like [the sign]. I saw people taking pictures beside it right after I posted it,” he said.
Mr Tyler took the sign down after news of it went viral. His restaurant, Whitewater Grille in Ocoee, is also facing calls for a boycott.
Mr Tyler had posted a second sign; Martin Luther King Jr’s famous ‘I Have a Dream’ quote written over a White House surrounded by Confederate flags, WRCB reported.
On his campaign website, Mr Tyler says Trump inspires him “like no other candidate has done before”.
And he thinks his billboard is a vote-winner.
Congressional hopeful & proud racist Rick Tyler https://t.co/6OTnqpt10c
— Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman) June 22, 2016
“The Make America White Again billboard advertisement will cut to the very core and marrow of what plagues us as a nation,” the website says.
“With its towering and massive stature, the billboard sign is difficult to ignore and its message comes across as authoritative and influential.”
The billboard was the first of many planned by Mr Tyler in the lead-up to the November election.
Other slogans include ‘Fight federal tyranny, Stop the Muslim invasion’ and ‘Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be miscegenators’ (marriage or cohabitation between two people from different racial groups), according to WTVC.
The billboard came under fire on social media — with US comedian and actress Sarah Silverman among those voicing their disgust.
“Congressional hopeful & proud racist Rick Tyler,” was her sarcastic offering.
His campaign websites — RickTylerForCongress.com and MakeAmericaWhiteAgain.info — which are listed on the billboard, are now defunct, AOL reported.
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