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Brands such as Nike and Adidas to PG Tips and Space NK have been expressing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement by issuing statements and adverts of support from Nike playing with their memorable tagline of Just Do It by asking consumers for once, Dont Do It to the #Solidaritea hashtag taken up by many tea brands. Many of these messages have been accompanied by promises to take a hard look at each companys history and current working practises to see what changes can be made to address structural racism.

The idea that we need to decolonise various areas of society is finally growing. But the idea itself is, of course, nothing new. Calls and attempts to decolonise curriculums, public transport systems, museum collections, healthcare systems and so on have been around for a while, but finally many appear to be taking it a bit more seriously.

Decolonising involves removing or rewriting rules and concepts left by colonial-era thinking that still control or influence society. And, of course, this means basically every sector of society. It is an idea that is becoming more widespread. But even though brands are stepping up and making statements, the broader industries behind these messages also need interrogating. Decolonisation, for example, is rarely discussed in my field, advertising and it needs to be.

American city dwellers, for example, usually see 5,000 adverts a day and many contain messages that reinforce colonial thinking. Adverts reflect what a society thinks about itself. One study found that white advert characters are more likely than characters of colour to be depicted as having an occupation. Such subtle racist and gendered stereotypes are common in adverts around the world.

A poster campaign from earlier this year by the Mexican department store chain Sears, for example, shows an indigenous woman selling bracelets next to a tall white woman. Another shows a white man looking down at another indigenous person, the headline reading Vacations.

Also read: Indian Americans, on the Matter of Black Lives

White superiority is implied in these adverts. The differences between primitive clothing and contemporary fashion are highlighted, something that the mans downward gaze and womans nonchalance further emphasise. These adverts also objectify indigenous peoples as something to be looked at on holiday. Someone to take a selfie with, like an animal at the zoo. Sears didnt remove the ads. The store responded to complaints by tweeting that it celebrates Mexican culture.

One advert that drew particular attention in the UK and US was the 2017 Dove ad that showed a black woman removing her brown top, revealing a white woman underneath. Although this was not the intended message, it could certainly be read to imply that by using Dove the consumer can become white. This upset some consumers who felt that Dove was referring to old colonial-era soap ads that portrayed black people as unclean. Dove removed the ad and started reviewing online content.

And a recent Dolce and Gabbana social media campaign, created in Italy for the Asian market, featured a Chinese model attempting to use chopsticks to eat Italian food, looking fabulous in her D&G clothing. This deeply offended Chinese luxury consumers. The ads were taken down and D&G sales drastically dropped, as celebrities withdrew their support for the brand.

These cases show that advertising needs to be decolonised: it can and does support discriminatory thinking thinking that often has its roots in the colonial era.

Ways to decolonise advertising

I am considering how we can remove such thinking from advertising, and there are a number of steps I think the industry should take.

The most obvious place to start this is within universities, which are already taking steps to decolonise other subjects, from history (more of a focus on colonial histories) to literature (moving beyond the set canon of what are often white male writers) and design (creating a space for designers working outside the confines of the Anglo-European sphere).

Also read: Race Is at the Heart of the Militarisation of the US Police Force

But most marketing courses have not yet taken such steps. It should become standard practice for marketing courses to emphasise how advertising not only persuades consumers but also influences society. Just as today we laugh at ads from the 1950s and their reflection of negative gender stereotypes, such as women stuck at home doing the washing, or not being able to drive correctly, the same exercise will certainly be done in 2050, analysing our current advertising. Advertisers had better be prepared and bear this in mind.

A change is also needed within actual advertising agencies, which are dominated by white men in top positions. Even though more women are obtaining these roles, there needs to be more of a gender balance, and far more racial diversity is needed. This will help encourage inclusive messages. In the UK, the Advertising Association has just released a report on diversity and inclusion concluding that the challenge is to ensure the industry is one in which Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) recruits can prosper.

In addition, the companies paying for advertising need to change by practising what they preach. This means that they need to follow through and act on their recent messages of solidarity.

Take Nikes Dont Do It ad. This is a good example of a brand calling attention to racism in society. But this, too, has been controversial because even though Nike has supported black athletes over the years, the company has been questioned over its lack of black representation on its leadership team. Brands associating themselves with racial equality need to back words with actions.

Also read: Amidst Black Lives Matter Stir, America Observes a Significant Juneteenth

Finally, regulatory bodies that govern advertising should be more proactive, creating specific rules that guide the ad industry before adverts become offensive. This might involve introducing regulations around reinforcing the concept of white superiority. The UKs Advertising Standards Authority has attempted to be proactive in this way, with the negative stereotypes rules that banned two ads in 2019, including Volkswagen. So this is a step in the right direction.

Of course, all of these steps will also feed into the efforts to decolonise elsewhere. The process of decolonising institutions will create a more egalitarian society so this is something to strive towards.

Carl W Jones is a senior lecturer at the School of Media and Communication at the University of Westminster

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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As Brands Stand in Solidarity With Black Lives Matter, They Must Also Decolonise - The Wire

A Black Lives Matter mural is painted in front of Cincinnati City Hall, Thursday, June 18, 2020. Cincinnati Enquirer

There are no funds in the budget for maintaining a pedestrian plaza outside of City Hall, City Manager Patrick Duhaney wrote in a Friday memo to Mayor John Cranley and councilmembers.

To close Plum Street and provide a plaza around the new "Black Lives Matter!" mural, at least $25,000 is needed. That money would go towards traffic signal timing modifications, sign installation and permanent barricades. The memo states these funds do not exist in the fiscal year 2021 budget.

The memo also states there are limited options for successfully sealing the mural, which would protect the mural from potential damage and fading.

Duhaney raised concerns Wednesday when council passed a motion to establish a pedestrian plaza on Plum Street to preserve the mural.

Closing Plum Street between Eighth and Ninth streets would cause problems for residents and a business owner in the area, Duhaney said.

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The artists who created the mural hope the space can be a center of constructive conversation and a way to honor Cincinnati's Black community members. Alandes Powell, who wrote the poem which inspired the mural, said the "real work" will come after the mural is preserved.

But getting to that point might take some time, Duhaney said Wednesday.

On Friday Duhaney released a full list of concerns in a memo to Mayor John Cranley and members of City Council. Those concernsare outlined below, per Duhaney's memo:

The Department of Transportation and Engineering will need to provide a plan which addresses the above concerns and then get that plan reviewed and approved by the City Planning Commission, the memo states. If the street closure is proved feasible, an ordinance of City Council will need to officially approve the closure of Plum Street and appropriate funds.

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Here are the issues with closing Plum Street for the 'Black Lives Matter!' mural - The Cincinnati Enquirer

Black lives did not matter when they were inhumanely transported like livestock from Africa. Black lives did not matter when they were lynched by the hundreds at the hands of the KKK. Black lives did not matter when they were attacked by dogs as they protested for equal rights.

With the weekly news cycle seeming to, without fail, include the death of at least one black boy at the hands of the police, or the body of a black woman being thrown to the ground by local law enforcement, or a black child being manhandled by the services meant to protect them, my heart sinks as I cling to the desire that black lives will matter.

When Nancy Pelosi, as part of MSNBCs town hall last year, was asked by student Shelly Ward if she supported the Black Lives Matter movement, Pelosis response was an all too familiar Well, I believe that all lives matter. Her statement was to the very obvious disappointment of the young black woman who asked the question, and to the disappointment of an exhausted black community.

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As someone who is constantly bombarded with the howling of but all lives matterand the heated conversations that inevitably followlet me explain. Black Lives Matter is not a term of confrontation or an exclusionary demand. As Columbia Law Professor Kimberle Crenshaw explains, saying black lives matter is simply aspirational; it's a rallying cry for a shift in statistical numbers that show that people who are black are twice as likely to be killed by a police officer while unarmed, compared to a white individual. According to a 2015 study, African-Americans died at the hands of police at a rate of 7.2 per million, while whites were killed at a rate of 2.9 per million.

Anyone who has kept any type of pulse on civil rights and the black human condition in the United States since the transatlantic slave trade would understand the need to emphasize the protection of black bodies. The people who have had the luxury of ignoring this particular issue is the white community, which has had the privilege of not questioningon a large scalewhether the systems they live in are detrimental to their livelihoods, based on their skin color.

But as the Black Lives Matter movement emerged, they were all of a sudden jolted into an awareness of the intersection of race and surviving police encounters. Instead of exploring the reasons why a movement like this would even be necessary, many have a knee jerk reaction. What about me? All lives matter, they cry. Why be divisive and unfair, what about our safety? The point these people miss is that the majority of experiences here in America already tend to center and highlight whiteness and cater to its safety. The country was built to function that way. Its roots of white supremacy and the marginalized concern for people of color has remained.

Today, looking at the gross brutality and murders of black American citizens like Oscar Grant, Michelle Cusseaux, Samuel Dubose, and Jordan Edwards, we are still aspiring to convince you that black lives matter.

But let's get back to the issue of countering Black Lives Matter with the phrase All Lives Matter. I've come to describe this as a collective gaslighting from the white community. Gaslighting is a tactic in which a person or entity, in order to gain more power (or in this case, keep their own peace), makes a victim question their reality. Why do those who counter black lives matter act as though black people aren't aware of the glaring disproportionate statistics of police brutality, of health care racism, and of mass incarceration? This is our reality. You deciding to ignore it for your own comfort doesn't make it any less true.

If a patient being rushed to the ER after an accident were to point to their mangled leg and say, This is what matters right now, and the doctor saw the scrapes and bruises of other areas and countered, but all of you matters, wouldnt there be a question as to why he doesn't show urgency in aiding that what is most at risk? At a community fundraiser for a decaying local library, you would never see a mob of people from the next city over show up angry and offended yelling, All libraries matter!especially when theirs is already well-funded.

This is because there is a fundamental understanding that when the parts of society with the most pain and lack of protection are cared for, the whole system benefits. For some reason, the community of white America would rather adjust the blinders theyve set against racism, instead of confront it, so that the country can move forward toward a true nation of justice for all.

"Stating 'black lives matter' doesnt insinuate that other lives dont."

Let me be clear: our stating that black lives matter doesnt insinuate that other lives dont. Of course all lives matter. That doesnt even need to be said. But the fact that white people get so upset about the term black lives matter is proof that nothing can center the wellbeing and livelihoods of black bodies without white people assuming it is to their demise.

My personal message to those committed to saying all lives matter in the midst of the justice-driven work of the Black Lives Matter movement: prove it. Point out the ways our societyparticularly the systems set in place to protect citizens like police officers and doctors and elected officialsare showing up to serve and protect black lives. Illuminate the instances in which the livelihood of the black community was prioritized, considering the circumstances that put us into less-privileged spaces to begin with. Direct me to the evidence of justice for the bodies discarded at the hands of those in power, be it by unjustified murder, jail cell, poisoned water, or medical discrimination.

These are the things that must be rectified for us to be able to exhale. Until then, I'll be here, my black fist raised with Black Lives Matter on my lips.

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What Does "Black Lives Matter" Actually Mean? Why Saying ...

According to the mainstream media, Black Lives Matter is a peaceful group fighting for civil rights. But this narrative flies in the face of hard truths concerning Black Lives Matters conduct since its inception in 2012.

Especially in light of the recent acts of anarchy and cop assassinations committed by members and sympathizers of the movement, its important that the public know exactly what this group participates in and stands for.

Here are five things you need to know about Black Lives Matter:

1. Black Lives Matter pushes a false narrative based on lies.

Leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement have expressed outrage over white cops allegedly targeting and murdering black men in cold blood with racial animus. The movement has depicted such horrors as an epidemic.

But such a narrative is false; statistical evidence has wholly debunked these claims and a new study has actually found no racial bias against blacks in police shootings.

Further, even the blown-up stories in the media helping to build the false narrative are built on lies: The Black Lives Matter movement earned its claim to fame by promoting the lie that Michael Brown was fatally shot by white officer Darren Wilson while he was surrendering with his hands up.

This is false. It never happened. Instead, Brown was believed to have been reaching for Wilsons gun moments before he was shot and killed in an act of self-defense. This was evidenced in the Justice Departments own investigation, which completely exonerated Wilson of wrongdoing.

Still, even today, Black Lives Matter protesters chant the lie over and over again.

2. Black Lives Matter calls for anarchy, and they follow through on it.

Black Lives Matter protesters staple chant is no justice, no peace. They have also explicitly called to dismantle this system.

And yes, they act on those calls for anarchy.

For instance, in response to the acquittal and total exoneration of law enforcement office Darren Wilson, movement members set the city of Ferguson, Missouri on fire. Innocent people had their businesses trashed and looted while the peaceful people of Missouri (black and white alike) awakened to find their city in shambles, literally on fire.

Further, just this weekend, over 300 people were arrested at Black Lives Matter protests held in New York, Chicago, Minnesota and Louisiana.

3. Black Lives Matter has explicitly called for dead cops and the lynching of white people.

Black Lives Matter members have disturbingly called for the murder of innocent white people, white police officers in particular.

Here are four videos calling for such action.

At a Black Lives Matter protest held in Portland, Oregon on Sunday, one attendee told fellow protesters to evade the law and murder cops if they feel they have been targeted by an officer for a crime they did not commit:

Black Lives Matter protesters chant Pigs in a blanket, fry em like bacon! at the Minnesota State Fair:

Black Lives Matter protesters chant What do we want? Dead cops. When do we want them? Now! in response to the death of Eric Garner:

A radio host affiliated with Black Lives Matter agrees with an anonymous caller demanding that white people be a sacrifice for alleged racially-motivated police brutality. The caller suggests that after black people murder innocent white people, they should hang them from a tree, take pictures of it and send it to mother f*ckers.

4. Black Lives Matter has pushed for segregation, even from Black Lives Matter sympathizers and their own members who are not black.

In November of 2015, Black Lives Matter members openly promoted segregation: Activists at the University of Missouri demanded a blacks only healing space where white allies and sympathizers of their cause were kicked out. This counterproductive move was in response to perceived racial injustices and white privilege at the college.

Earlier this month, Black Lives Matter members reportedly refused to sell a white supporter of the movement a Black Lives Matter t-shirt because of the color of his skin. Apparently the t-shirts were reserved for blacks only.

5. The Obama Administration has legitimized Black Lives Matter.

Despite all the racist, hateful acts committed and promoted by members of the Black Lives Matter movement, our president continuously legitimizes the group.

As recent as February of this year, Mr. Obama invited race-hustlers and prominent Black Lives Matter figures such as Deray McKesson to speak about race at the White House. He reportedly told McKesson and the other so-called activists that they have done outstanding work and made history.

Weve got some young people here who are making history as we speak.

Barack Obama, praising Black Lives Matter supporters

Weve got some young people here who are making history as we speak, said Obama. People like Brittany [Packnett] who served on our Police Task Force in the wake of Ferguson and has led many of the protests that took place there and shined a light on the injustice that was happening. People like Deray McKesson who has done some outstanding work mobilizing in Baltimore around these issues and to see generations who are continuing to work on behalf of justice and equality and economic opportunity is greatly encouraging to me.

Of course, the left as a whole, Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders and the mainstream media at large, have also pitched in to legitimize and pander to the hate group.

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5 Things You Need To Know About Black Lives Matter | The ...

It's time to expose the Black Lives Matter [BLM]movement for what it is:a racist, violent hate group that promotes the execution of police officers. The evidence is in their rhetoric and written on their shirts.

If you take a look at the Black Lives Matter Twitter feed, you'll find photos of activists wearing shirts that say, "Assata Taught Me."

They're referring to infamous cop killer Assata Shakur, otherwise known as Joanne Chesimard, who shot and killed a New Jersey State Trooper back in 1973. In 1977,Shakur was convicted and sentenced to prison but quickly escaped and has been a fugitive in Cuba ever since. She's also on the FBI's most wanted terrorism list. BLM glorifies Shakur as a hero and uses her writings and materials during training sessions. Lee Stranahanhas more:

Former Black Panther Party member Kathleen Cleaver, who is a supporter of Shakur, is "thrilled" about the BLM movement.

Now, onto those who condone this behavior and the rhetoric being used.

Not only have the leaders of the Democrat Party refused to condemn the movement, they've desperately tried to embrace it. In the age of Obama, where Democrats thrive on division and embrace a racial justice narrative, this isn't surprising.

Last week at the DNC summer meeting in Minneapolis, a resolution was passed in solidarity with the movement. BLM later rejected it.

"The DNC joins with Americans across the country in affirming Black lives matter and the say her name efforts to make visible the pain of our fellow and sister Americans as they condemn extrajudicial killings of unarmed African American men, women and children," the solidarity resolution states.

The day after the resolution was passed, BLM activists in Minneapolis chanted, "pigs in a blanket, fry em' like bacon," as they marched down the street. This rhetoric also came just one day after the execution of Texas Sheriff Deputy Daron Goforth while he was filling up his patrol car at a local gas station. If you aren't familiar, "pigs in a blanket" refers to the bodies of dead police officers in body bags.

Despite Richard Fowler's claims that he's "watching a different Black Lives Matter movement," we aren't and the calls for police executions are not isolated incidents (he also lied about the Tea Party connection to the Tucson shooting of former Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords, there wasn't a connection as he claimsbut that's a topic for a other post). In December the man who killed two NYPD officers while they were eating lunch in their patrol car posted on his Instagram page, "Going to put pigs in a blanket" before carrying out his killings. In Ferguson when news of the NYPD slayings hit, BLM protestors chanted and celebrated, "Pigs in a blanket!" We saw the same over the weekend in Minneapolis. This isn't happening in one place, it's happening around the country. BLM activists are using their own words and inspiration from convicted cop killers to promote the assassination of police officers.

Finally, it's important to point out two-thirds of the African American community flat out reject BLM or strongly disagree with the movement's tactics. From the Washington Post:

But at protests today, it is difficult to distinguish legitimate activists from the mob actors who burn and loot. The demonstrations are peppered with hate speech, profanity, and guys with sagging pants that show their underwear. Even if the BLM activists arent the ones participating in the boorish language and dress, neither are they condemning it.

"It's a racist movement, racist to the core...denounce the Black Lives Movement and replace it with All Lives Matter."

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Exposing The Black Lives Matter Movement For What It Is ...