// a href = ./ //

The release of a controversial film about racial division in St. Louis is being criticized over images used to advertise it, as well as it's timing. An advertisement flyer for the documentary film "Bootlicker" contains images of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay standing over a black man on his knees.

Filmmaker Terry Artis told Fox2 News that the black man depicted is supposed to represent Slay's supporters. "I'm trying to shock people into the reality of what this is," Artis said. "We live in a city that's run like one big slave plantation."

Artis is also being criticized for releasing “Bootlicker” on February 20th, less than two weeks before the Mayoral primary.

Mayor Slay released a statement critical of the film: "It's an appalling contradiction to the Reed campaign's theme of ‘One St. Louis’ when they and their supporters demean, in the worst possible way, African Americans who support Mayor Slay."

In response, Reed's Campaign released the following statement: "We condemn the overtones in this material. Francis Slay's record is enough for us to criticize without stoking the fire of racial politics."