Outrage Rapidly Forces Boston Billboard Denying Armenian Genocide Down

Somerville, Massachusetts resident Elizabeth Weinbloom was one of the most active protesters. She tweeted about the ad on April 6, and her words incited many to contact the mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh, the Department of Transportation, and Clear Channel. She made a powerful parallel when she declared in one tweet, “We’d never allow a Holocaust denial sign at the Holocaust memorial. Or anywhere at all.” After the billboard ad was pulled down, she declared in a newspaper interview, “I guess I’ve never had the privilege to experience social media being so incredibly effective at correcting an injustice.”

Furthermore, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, which includes 42 member organizations in the area, issued a statement which read: “The JCRC of Greater Boston is appalled by the billboard recently posted in Boston’s North End that denies the existence of the Armenian Genocide. This is a disturbing affront to the Armenian community and to all decent people in Boston. As one neighborhood resident rightly says in today’s Boston Globe, this billboard, placed across from the Armenian Heritage Park, is ‘like putting a Holocaust denial ad right above a Holocaust memorial.’ We are pleased that Clear Channel Outdoors, owners of the billboard, has indicated that the message was put up in error and has removed it.”

Robert O. Trestan, the regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said, according to Eric Levenson’s April 7 article in Boston.com: “This billboard denying the Armenian Genocide is no different and just as offensive as one denying the Holocaust.”

Naturally, there was a lot of Armenian activity too. The Armenian student associations of the greater Boston area organized phone campaigns, and through the social media many Armenians became aware and contacted Clear Channel. The Boston Globe, regional newspapers, and several local television stations, including CBS, covered the issue.

Kalustian related why he thought the reaction succeeded so well and quickly: “We have built such good relations with people. We had built such credibility with the work we had done in the past with the programming such as for the 100^th anniversary [of the Genocide], so awareness is growing among these groups.” In fact, other communities facing similar issues in the US are now approaching Kalustian for advice.

Prizewinning Boston Globe reporter Stephen Kurkjian declared at an event at the Old State House honoring Moses Gulesian on April 7 that this success was due to “all of those people who we have touched and told our story for fifty years, and told them who we were, and told them the pride we felt … Our story has finally been heard and reckoned with.”

A number of local politicians commented recently. State Representative Jonathan Hecht of Watertown told the Mirror, “I think that there is greater awareness, but I think also that this was so outrageous, the placement of it, that anybody who gave it a moment’s thought, knew that it was absolutely beyond the pale. I think everyone, particularly people in public life and members of the community, has to speak out in these sorts of circumstances, and the fact that so many people did explains why it came down so fast.”

Rep. David Muradian of Worcester, after expressing disappointment with Clear Channel’s impetus to collect money without consideration of the ad message, said, “It is great to see our community come together. While I am a very big champion of first amendment rights, there is human decency, and there is a line that should never be crossed.”

Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian concluded, “When that billboard was first put up, I was filled with a mixture of outrage and hurt. It made me feel sad to think that denial still goes on in a public place, and a place not just public but a personal place for Armenians…but then I was heartened because in a matter of hours that billboard was taken down. It was not just because of the actions of the many Armenians who called and advocated but it was because of the actions of our friends, the Jewish community, the immigrant community and so many other groups, who came to our side and stood strong with us, without a moment of hesitation. That made me feel proud because that made me realize that we are an incredible country. We have made our mark in this incredible country and many others truly appreciate and love who we are, and will stand with us in difficult times.”