Intervention 2: Poster (Liz)

    “Black Lives Matter has been around since 2013, but there’s been a big shift in public opinion about the movement as well as broader support for recent protests.” States an article in the New York Times (2020). This shift was in part due to the increased support for the movement from agencies like the N.F.L. and NASCAR. The heightened support created more exposure to people who may otherwise not know about the movement and led to increased involvement. 2020 consisted of many social rights protests, and brought the injustices towards black people, and low income neighborhoods to the forefront of many peoples mind.

    Personally, I became more aware of where I lacked knowledge, and how that ignorance is perpetuating systemic racism and oppression. The death of innocent black men and women needs to stop, the biases held by society towards black people and melanin in general needs to be transformed. It is not up to black people to change it. It is up to everyone, we all have a crucial role to play in ending and shifting the social dynamics of current day capitalism. A quote from Brandon Terry, an assistant professor of African American Studies and social studies at Harvard states “Black Lives Matter represents a unique moment in the history of black political thought because it rejects the idea of “black uplift,” which proposes that educated blacks are responsible for the well-being of the black population.” This quote resonates with the idea that everyone must do the work for black uplift and social justice to take place. The poster I created addresses this by stating that the end of racism is up to us all, and posing the question to ignite self reflection “Are you doing your part?”.

 

    I chose to write this sign in both English and Spanish because I live in a neighborhood with a large population of Spanish speakers. The next town over is Union City, another culturally rich neighborhood with many Spanish speakers. I placed it near a bus stop because the bus runs between these two towns and beyond. I did this because I want to reach a larger group of people, while simultaneously emphasizing that everyone needs to be in this together. I would love to make these in other languages as well. My poster questions people on their own active role, contributing or against racism, it aims to strike conversations internally and externally on the topic. I hope through its presence it opens the door for dialogue and opportunities to educate and reflect on the topic.