Anti-Obama July 4 parade float accused of being racist


A Norfolk, Nebraska, parade float depicting the Obama presidential library as an outhouse has come under fire for its allegedly racist undertone. Carried on the back of a flatbed truck in the town's Independence Day parade, the float showed a dummy in overalls standing outside the makeshift latrine.
The state Democratic Party called the float one of the "worst shows of racism and disrespect for the presidency that Nebraska has ever seen." Yet the float nonetheless received some of the day's heartiest cheers, according to the Lincoln Journal Star. And organizers defended the float, with parade committee member Rick Konopasek likening it to a political cartoon.
"We don't feel its right to tell someone what they can and can't express," he said. "This was political satire. If we start saying no to certain floats, we might as well not have a parade at all."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
May 18 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons feature Donald Trump, Air Force One, and the Pope.
-
5 hilariously heavenly editorial cartoons about the newly elected pope
Cartoons Artists take on the angel and the devil, music choices at the Vatican, and more
-
Celebrating 60 years of the Pennine Way
The Week Recommends This beautiful long-distance path immerses walkers in the beautiful British countryside
-
Supreme Court weighs court limits amid birthright ban
speed read President Trump's bid to abolish birthright citizenship has sparked questions among federal judges about blocking administration policies
-
Gabbard fires intelligence chiefs after Venezuela report
speed read Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top two officials leading the National Intelligence Council
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin