Young people get creative with anti-racism campaign

The campaign draws on personal experiences of racism to prompt conversations on the topic

ANTI-RACIST: The young people are using their creativity to get people thinking and talking about racism

TWO NEW anti-racism campaigns made by inner-city young people have been launched nationally as part of the new Create Not Hate initiative.

The campaigns which draw on the personal experiences of the young people involved have also been inspired by the resurgence of Black Lives Matter movement.

The idea for Racist Dinosaur, a 30-second animated film, and five accompanying print ads in which people with racist attitudes are depicted as dinosaurs was conceived by 16-year-old Merton school children Jet Harris and Le’vaughn Smith.

In the ads, the dinosaurs are seen saying statements that racists often say when referring to people from ethnic minority backgrounds such as: “Send ‘em back, I say”. The video concludes with the call to action: “Make racism extinct”.

Finton Hurst and Mariana Gonzalez, also from Merton and both 22 years old, came up with the idea for Racism is Ridiculous, a multimedia comic strip which explores what the world would be like if dogs were racist.

In the comic strip, created by Ridley Scott Creative Group and ad agency Quiet Storm, a variety of different dog breeds are depicted in different social scenarios.

In each strip, one of the dogs is quoted saying a phrase inspired by a version of a commonly heard microaggression, racist comment or incident of racial profiling such as: “Wow, you hair is so exotic! Can I touch it?”

The comic strip, which seeks to prompt discussions about racism, ends with the line: “Imagine if dogs were racist – would they hate and hurt based on what they see? Sounds barking mad, so why do we?”

Each of the new campaigns seek to highlight the absurdity of racism in the modern world.

They are part of Create Not Hate’s multimedia anti-racism campaign that has already produced short films, posters, t-shirts, adverts and face masks – all made by young, marginalised black people from London.

Trevor Robinson, founder of Create Not Hate, said: “This work is yet another reminder of the untapped talent that’s out there. These young people have used humour brilliantly to tackle an incredibly important issue – a tool that in my view is often the most engaging way to get a message across. I am hugely grateful to Red Brick Road, The Mill and The Ridley Scott Creative Group for getting involved in Create Not Hate – especially at such a difficult time for every business.”

Robinson added: “I look forward to the initiative’s work continuing to progress around racism and how we can tackle it as a society.”

Create Not Hate debuted over the August bank holiday to coincide with Notting Hill Carnival, with films made my the young creatives shown during the carnival’s online programming. Posters from the campaign were also displayed around the traditional carnival route in west London.

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