By Dr Verity Jones (verity6.jones@uwe.ac.uk)
On the afternoon of 25 April 2024, just as children piled out of school, the RESPECT project team were putting their final touches to a billboard in Bristol that in invited people to think about what life would be like without racism.
The new billboard aims to amplify children’s voice and start conversations on this important topic. It features an illustration from the book that was co-authored with children from the project and invites people to think about what a world without racism might be like – giving us space to think about what changes need to be made.
The ‘If Racism Vanished for a Day’ book co-authored was developed following research about 10 and 11-years olds in Bristol. This billboard is in response to the children demanding that anti racist education not be condemned to tokenistic celebrations of what it is to be Black during Black History Month or in response to a racist attack when it hits the media. Instead, children want to have opportunities to discuss these important issues through the year.
The children said: “…racism is not okay, and we want people to understand the way it affects us.”
A visit to the billboard in St Werburghs can hopefully provide an opportunity to start a conversation with children about these important issues and get children’s voices heard.
The team continues to work with schools across the UK and through this work we often hear adults say that children don’t understand what racism is, or that they don’t or can’t recognise it. We can confidently say they do and they want change. The RESPECT project offers free resources to teachers on how to discuss racism and its impact on young people.
The ‘If Racism Vanished for a Day’ book is available in print or as a free e-book and is available here:
Big thanks: to all of the children who so generously shared their experiences; funders – UWE Bristol and UKRI – and installers Adblock Bristol.
RESPECT Team: Verity Jones, Luci Gorell Barnes, Tessa Podpadec, Chris Pawson, Sarah Whitehouse, Malcolm Richards, Justin Vafadari.
