NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Color
Of Change, the nation's largest online racial justice
organization, launched The Pedestal Project – an
Augmented Reality (AR) experience on Instagram that lets users
place statues of racial justice leaders atop empty pedestals where
confederate statues once stood as a refreshing new symbol of
equality and progress.
Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8850551-color-of-change-launches-the-pedestal-project/
Color Of Change has advocated for the removal of
contentious statues for many years. Now, The Pedestal
Project uses technology to see a world where statues
finally portray worthy idols for future generations. The campaign
launches with three incredible racial justice leaders to honor and
virtually place on the empty pedestals where the likes of Robert E
Lee and Stonewall Jackson once stood:
- John Lewis, Civil
Rights leader and Former United States Congressman
- Alicia Garza,
Co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Movement, Author, and
Principal at Black Futures Lab
- Chelsea
Miller, Co-founder of Freedom March NYC
The campaign encourages people to snap a picture or a video of
their experience and share to social page by tagging
@ColorOfChange. The Pedestal Project Instagram Lens
is activated via a mobile device on the Color of Change
Instagram page, at home, anytime. Color Of Change encourages
people to go outside, safely, within their own communities to find
empty pedestals where confederate symbols once stood. The AR
experience is easy and immersive. Upon accessing the lens, users
will be able to select from a gallery of statues, place it atop an
empty pedestal and in the activists' own voice, hear why change is
worth fighting for.
"In their time, white nationalist officials erected statues of
Confederate leaders for a reason – to send a message about who
should dominate this country, and to put Black people in our
place," said Rashad Robinson,
president of Color Of Change "In our time, Confederate statues
continue to encourage white nationalists who are hell bent on
resisting progress. It's not enough to remove them, we must replace
them with symbols of a just vision of America. But most
importantly, every statue we change must go hand in hand with a
statute we change. We cannot allow symbols like monuments to be a
consolation prize — they must accompany real efforts to change laws
and outcomes for real people, which is why we're focusing on three
of the many heroes fighting for concrete, anti-racist policy
changes that will transform our country for the better."
"Symbols and their substance matter," said Alicia Garza, Co-Founder of the
Black Lives Matter Movement and one of the featured
virtual racial justice leaders in The Pedestal Project. "They are a
representation of that which we vow to never forget — they are
regular reminders of what we value, who we strive to be, as
individuals, as communities, as a nation, as a people. There are
symbols of racial terror all over our country — Confederate
monuments, crosses burning on lawns of civil rights workers,
statues to killers and war criminals. But what if there were
monuments to our ongoing struggle for racial justice, for dignity,
for democracy — not confined inside of memorials and museums, but
everywhere that people gather? The Pedestal Project allows us to
imagine a United States that was
committed to remembering rather than forgetting, a country striving
towards equality and justice."
"The Civil Rights Movement never ended; it has just taken new
forms," said Chelsea Miller,
Co-Founder of Freedom March NYC and one of the featured virtual
racial justice leaders in The Pedestal Project. "It is on every
generation to build on the work of those who came before us and
unapologetically stand on the shoulders of our ancestors. This
partnership with Color of Change is a reminder of the power of this
movement and the intergenerational work that is required to
reimagine what's next."
As Instagram users are interacting with The Pedestal
Project Lens, Color Of Change is also calling for action!
Sign their online petition for the removal of all Confederate
symbols in public spaces and replace those empty pedestals of
equality and hope. To learn more about the initiative and to find a
local empty pedestal, visit ThePedestalProject.com and help turn
these ill-conceived pedestals into beacons of racial justice.
The Pedestal Project was a pro bono
initiative created in partnership with leading creative agency,
BBDO New York.
Social Media Tags: #ThePedestalProject , @ColorOfChange
About Color Of Change
Color Of
Change is the nation's largest online racial justice
organization. They help people respond effectively to injustice in
the world around us. As a national online force driven by over 7
million members, they move decision-makers in corporations and
government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black
people in America. Learn more at www.colorofchange.org and
follow on social media at @Colorofchange.
About BBDO
BBDO's mantra is "The Work. The Work. The
Work." Every day, BBDO people in 289 offices in 81 countries
work day by day, job by job and client by client to create and
deliver the world's most compelling commercial content. BBDO
is part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC)
(www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate
communications company.
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SOURCE Color Of Change