STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Billboards in Brooklyn Break Down Racial Disparities

A series of ads at Brooklyn bus stops aims to break down and highlight racial disparities about stop and frisk.

“Don’t want to be stopped by the NYPD? STOP BEING BLACK.”

That's the headline of a "Racism Still Exists" advertisement on a Brooklyn, New York, bus stop. The poster is part of a series of ads that break down racial disparities in health, wealth, education and the media by the anonymously funded campaign known as RISE.

RISE is tackling the racial disparities in stop-and-frisk, a New York Police Department policy that has disproportionately targeted Black and Latino men. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that the NYPD's use of the stop-and-frisk policy in the Bronx was unconstitutional. 

In the past, RISE has taken issue with ads targeting Blacks and the lack of starring roles for Blacks on TV and in movies. Their ads have been appearing in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn since August.

“RISE is a project designed to illuminate some of the ways in which racism operates in this country,” according to the site.

All of RISE's graphics live on the the Racism Still Exists Tumblr page. The blog states its mission is to debunk the myth that we currently live in a “post-racial” society in America.

 

BET National News - Keep up to date with breaking news stories from around the nation, including headlines from the hip hop and entertainment world. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.