Favorite mayoral edict
By Steve Lange
During his first stint as Rochester mayor (from 1947-’51), Claude “Boney” McQuillan, the former pro boxer and Green Bay Packer, began a sometimes quiet, sometimes overt campaign to remove racist signs (some as blatant as “No Niggers Allowed”) that adorned various Rochester businesses. Most business owners complied, but, so the story goes, one Rochester bar keeper told the mayor that the sign would stay. Boney gave him a choice: “You can take it down right now, or I will break your nose right now.” The barkeep complied.
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