CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Billboards with John Williams’s face have been popping up all over Northeast Ohio.
Last week, 19 News told you about one on East 35th Street and Community College Avenue saying “I Buy Crack Houses”.
Now, that’s been replaced with another one that’s drawing the same criticism saying “Top Ninja Slashing Fees”.
Councilman Richard Starr says this is a derogatory term against the black community who lives in the Central neighborhood.
“Someone planning to say like they’re a ninja and calling themself the top ninja as if I’m not from the streets. That is, if I’m not in the neighborhood. I know what top ninja means and that is not going to be advertised in Ward 5 and it sure is not happening in the City of Cleveland,” says Starr.
Starr is working with council to see what can be done to end these types of advertisements once and for all.
“Nobody is ignorant enough to understand to be able to say hey, I wrote that and didn’t notice what this meant. Yes, we did. We do know what it mean and if we’re trying to build our community up this type of market and this type of advertising cannot be in the forefront,” says Starr.
We spoke with John Williams, the home buyer behind the signs, he balked at any claim that the billboards have a racist conotation.
“That is a ridiculous accusation,” says Williams.
He says he saw The Karate Kid movie with his family a couple of weeks ago which gave him the idea for the ninja theme.
19 News also noticed one of his billboards was vandalized today calling him the king of b-s.
That one will be replaced.
