DENVER (KDVR) — A sign that said “Bring back Jim Crow” was briefly displayed over Interstate 25 in Denver on Sunday morning, and one resident who saw it was left in shock.

It happened on the pedestrian bridge at 16th and Central streets over I-25 early Sunday morning.

Chris Sykes has lived in the Highland neighborhood, not far from where the sign was, for 20 years.

“We absolutely love it over here on the north side,” Sykes said.

In two decades, he says he’s never seen anything like this.

“This kind of hate should not be anywhere in the world, but regrettably it still exists and it’s shameful,” Sykes said.

He says as a friend drove into town southbound on I-25 to meet him for a bike ride, they snapped a picture of two signs on the pedestrian bridge.

One sign said, “Justice for Iryna Zarutska”, the North Carolina stabbing victim that made national headlines. The other said, “Bring back Jim Crow”.

Sykes says his initial reaction was disgust, immediately followed with confusion and disappointment.

“How did you reach the decision point where you are advocating for bringing back a 1960s form of government that basically oppresses and vilifies a population,” Sykes said.

All that was left of the signs Sunday evening were a few zip ties where they once hung. Sykes says he and his friends went to cut them down themselves, but says he saw Denver Police officers already doing it when they got to the bridge around 7:15 a.m. He hopes only a small number of drivers saw it.

“Let’s get off the racism train and lets actually just look at people as individuals,” Sykes said.

Sykes says the neighborhood he loves will be able to rally through it.

“The north side is a very diverse neighborhood, and everybody helps each other,” Sykes said.

Sykes says he’s thankful to DPD for cutting the sign down and hopes the person who hung it is found and held accountable.