HARRISON, Ark. (KY3) – A controversial billboard in Harrison will stay up under the protection of land ownership and First Amendment rights.
The sign reads WhitePrideRadio.com. Exactly a year after 8,000 in the community signed a petition to have the billboard taken down, it is visible for all to see. Many recognize it from social media. It is one of the first things you see as you enter Harrison on north bound U.S. 65.
”I don’t like it, it doesn’t mean I have to love it,” said Elaine Goff, a life long resident of Harrison. “But there’s things in this world that happen that we don’t like anyway. And they’re within their individual rights to freely express what they want on that sign.”
The sign was originally put up in 2013 and is one many feel doesn’t reflect Harrison.
”People here are nice, they’re friendly, they’re helpful,” said Goff.
”I feel like it brings more of a negative impact to Harrison because people here are not like that, it’s a lot more of a positive community,” said Megan Mondy. “I understand why it stays up, but I still feel like it shouldn’t be.”
Harrison is a place that has faced racial issues for several years. Layne Ragsdale has worked closely with the Harrison Task Force for Race Relations since it formed in 2003.
”Throughout that entire time, our mission has been to promote the reality and perception of Harrison as a warm and welcoming community,” said Ragsdale. “We make sure we invite multi-cultural groups into our community, we monitor any situations that come up and see if there’s ways that we can help.”
Several similar signs used to stand in Harrison, but have since been taken down through efforts by the task force. This one remains due to a matter of land ownership, which is how the task force was able to take down other signs. Those who own the land billboards are on have the right to edit or remove the signs material.
”The only one that is left is owned on a tiny parcel of land that is owned by the person who is putting up the sign,” Ragsdale explained. “Government cannot tell them what they can put up on their billboard.”
The owner of the sign and land it sits on is Jason Robb. He is a lawyer and relative to Thomas Robb, director of the Knights Party, also known as the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
While the sign stays, Ragsdale says the Harrison has come a long way in recent decades, but these things hold them back by altering their image.
“Eyesore is a good word, and it is such a stain on our image that’s out there,” said Ragsdale. “And our concern has always been that that image can create our reality.”
*story by KY3 News