Billboard company Lamar Advertising took down the anti-abortion ad that targeted African-American women and angered many New Yorkers yesterday. However, according to the company, the decision had little to do with people taking offense to the content of the billboard.
The ad, which read, “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb,” was bought by a pro-life organization called Life Always and featured 6-year-old Anissa Fraser.
On Wednesday, Anissa’s mother was surprised to see her daughter’s photo used in the billboard.
“I would never endorse something like that,” Fraser told MyFoxNY.com. “Especially with my child’s image.”
Fraser said she had taken her children to a modeling agency for photos two years ago. She signed a release form so that the pictures could be sold as stock images, but she never imagined her daughter would appear in an anti-abortion ad, targeting African-American women.
While we’re glad the ad has been taken down, we’re not sure the advertising company or Life Always understands how offensive the billboard content was, and with the track record of anti-abortionists targeting Black women, we’re bracing ourselves for another ad like this one to pop up in another big city.