Anti-racism Sign Messages

Thank you for caring enough to help create racial equity in this world!

Here are some suggestions for anti-racism messages you can write onto cardboard signs. You’re also welcome to make your own messages, and they can be in any language (please include an English translation for a caption). You can have more than one sign in the photo. There are suggestions below for messages anyone can use, messages for people of color, and for white people as well. I have developed and collected these messages through my work with consultant Ayisha Elliott (blackgirlfromeugene.org).

Please take a photo of yourself (individually or in a group) and send to me at signsofchange@shantalamusic.com. Participating in this project will help to create a virtual, online protest in order to bring about justice and social change. Many photos will be included in a full-length song video for the Shantala song “I Will Stand With You.” They will also be included in an online gallery we are featuring on our website.

If you send us your photo, please understand that you give consent to have it shared online, through email and social media in support of the project.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me:
Heather Wertheimer
signsofchange@shantalamusic.com

Thank you!

 

For anyone:

  • If they were white, they wouldn’t be dead
  • NO MORE NAMES On the death list
  • Racism Hurts
  • Racism Kills
  • Stop tolerating the intolerable
  • Justice is what love looks like in public (Cornel West)

Suggestions from Ayisha Elliott: (blackgirlfromeugene.org)

  • Cops aren’t supposed to kill the bad guys either!
  • Is it dangerous, or is it black?
  • If it sounds like racism, it is!
  • She was only 16
  • He was only 5 when he first heard the “N” word
  • If it were my child . . . .
  • What if it were YOUR child?
  • Racism is morally corrupt

For people of color:

  • We are dying
  • Afraid my child will be next (Amy Hunter)
  • They tried to bury us
  • They didn’t know we were seeds
  • Being “good” won’t keep me alive (Karen Bayard)
  • I don’t want to have to identify his body (Amy Hunter)
  • When will this be over? (Amy Hunter’s son)

(Or whatever message feels authentic for you to say)
Quote from Amy Hunter: “I would rather die fighting for my children to be free than to let them be captive”

For people of color who have lost someone or have been otherwise injured by racial violence:

I lost my . . . . (fill in the blank)

  • Son
  • Daughter
  • Lover
  • Parent
  • Friend
  • Trust
  • Innocence
  • Hope
  • Respect
  • Dignity
  • Health
  • Freedom
  • Safety
  • Sanity
  • Ability to work
  • The use of my legs

(Describe your experience of harm or loss)

For white people only:

  • Racism is MY responsibility!
  • End White Silence
  • Racism hurts EVERYBODY
  • If it’s not right, say something! (Karen Bayard)
  • Changing the racism between my ears

From Ayisha Elliott:

  • Being pro-black doesn’t mean anti-white
  • Our/My history is tied to oppression
  • It stops now
  • Black/Brown people have every right to lead the way
  • Black/Brown people do not have to answer to us
  • Black/Brown people are essential to our well-being
Menu