Carry the Law with you: institutions create Anti-Racist Scholarship

Scenes of black people being humiliated and persecuted while shopping always make an impact, but they continue to be repeated. To alert society to the problem of racism, the communications company Gray Brasil and the Zumbi dos Palmares University created a way to carry the Law in your bag when shopping. Literally.

This Thursday (21), the date on which the International Day Against Racial Discrimination was celebrated, the joint action launched the Anti-Racist Scholarship. Designed by guest designers such as Naya Violeta, the product was designed for every detail to communicate the crime as it occurs, being a large bag, with an Afro futuristic aesthetic and hanging beads made to make noise.

However, it is inside the bag that Law 14,532/2023, which provides for 2 to 5 years in prison and a fine for anyone who embarrasses, humiliates or commits crimes of racism, or racial insult, is described in bold letters on an acrylic label. sewn to the fabric. Thus, in a possible harassing approach during shopping, the consumer can open her bag to the attacker and the law will be there.

In addition to the sale of bags, which will first be sent to influencers to promote the idea, thousands of labels will be distributed free of charge to be sewn onto any bag.

“Naya created a very impactful and powerful bag. We are proud to count on your talent and vision. I am sure that this bag will cause great repercussion and boost the Zero Racism Movement”, comments Manir Fadel, CCO and CEO of Grey, about the work of the designer from Goiás.

Role of companies and the Anti-Racist Fight

One of the creators of the Zero Racism Program and rector of Universidade Zumbi dos Palmares, José Vicente says that the objective of the campaign is to draw the attention of society and especially companies to this situation, which occurs almost exclusively among black people.

“The idea is that more companies become aware of the Zero Racism program and take part in the initiative, training their employees to be anti-racist agents. Furthermore, we also aim to generate knowledge about the program so that people know they can count on a reporting channel if they experience racism in consumer environments”, explains the professor.

According to the dean, the daily manifestations of structural racism are not personal against the individual, but are part of the culture that recognizes every black citizen as a threat.

“We, as a society, have an understanding that the black body is always a threat. So every time there is a black person in an environment of prestige and quality, the first idea is not that he is a consumer. The first idea, as a rule, is that that person represents a danger to me and my property. Therefore, the association is that I need to follow him, ask him to open his bag and present the invoice, even if this is a crime”, says José Vicente to CNN stating that this type of violence against black people is constantly normalized.

(*Under the supervision of Felipe Andrade)