The League of United Latin American Citizens has threatened legal action against hotel owner Larry Whitten after he placed a racially offensive sign on his Taos hotel marquee.

The Whitten Inn, 615 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, has been the subject of almost daily protests for the past several weeks.

Whitten, a hotel operator based in Abilene, Texas, took over the Paragon Inn on July 31, terminated a half-dozen employees and instituted several controversial policies many have called racist. He did not allow employees to speak Spanish in his presence, and he told several employees to change their names — Martín was to be called "Martin," and Marcos was to go as "Mark" — while at work.

On Sept. 5, the day LULAC had planned a news conference in front of the inn, the hotel's sign carried a message accusing the Hispanic organization of using racially derogatory language to refer to the hotel owner and asking, "Who is the real racist?"

A letter dated the same day from state LULAC director Paul Martínez denied the charge and threatened legal action if the sign, which Martínez called "horrendous" and "libelous," was not removed. It was taken down by that evening.

Whitten said he put the sign up because he wanted people to see the "real reason" for the terminations. An employee was fired after making the racially derogatory comment, he said. But according to Paul Martínez's letter, the person is not a LULAC member.

Whitten said the protest has taken a toll on his business, and he plans to sell the hotel and leave Taos after renovations are complete. He said he expects the work to take several months.

"Right now we're going to stay open," he said. "As soon as we get it ready and get some financial history behind us, ain't nothing about Taos I like except Michael's restaurant."

According to Whitten, he specializes in turning around distressed hotel properties and raising occupancy rates. He has worked in Texas, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

LULAC National Youth president Jessica Martínez attended the Saturday protest and said an apology from Whitten would be a start, but the group will be exploring legal action against him for creating a hostile work environment and violating workers' civil rights. His policies are "violating our rights as a people," she said.

Among chants of "Boycott" and "We won't stand for racism," protesters of all ages carried signs and shared their feelings about Whitten and his practices.

"To see something like this is very sad," Brown Beret state prime minister Juanito Burns Jr. said. "This shouldn't even be an issue in this day and age." Burns said most people in town are supportive of the protesters, and even white people in town have been bringing them food and water and honking in support. "I think that says something great about the area we live in," he said.

Emilio Sánchez, 12, said he stands behind the protest and wants to see Whitten leave town; he said he wouldn't consider working under the conditions Whitten imposed. "My name is not Timmy or Tom or anything," Sánchez said.

Several protesters said Whitten's departure is the only result that will satisfy them at this point. "We will not leave until he leaves," protest organizer Shirley Reyes said. Reyes said Whitten should have taken the time to learn about Northern New Mexico before imposing his policies.

"People come to this town for the diversity of its culture," she said. "He did (this) to himself."

Contact Matt Van Buren at mvanburen@taosnews.com.