The Powerful and the Powerless

You have to accept that when the Zara designer produced the children’s stripy night top with a star in the corner, they along with the myriad of quality control checks did not realise their product bore a striking resemblance to the clothes that were given to Jewish people in the death camps. On the other hand you may not accept it.

But that’s not the point, either way.

What occurred next is most telling, and should be a wake up call for all of us who demand to be respected and above all listened to.

Early this morning an Israeli journalist tweets at 8.57 am: The new #ZARA Sheriff T-Shirt is somewhat #Holocaust ish in its design don't you agree?

By 11am the product that was in stores all over the world was  pulled with the grovelling apology in several languages:

We honestly apologize, it was inspired by the sheriff’s stars from the Classic Western films and is no longer in our stores.”

Compare that to Asda’s KKK style rain coats, and more recently the Barbican’s decision to go ahead with the ghastly Exhibition B by Brett Bailey who takes the theme of the horrors of objectifying Black people, by once again objectifying Black people.

We told ASDA to pull the product that so readily looked like a KKK outfit, they said no. We’ve told the Barbican that we feel once again humiliated and objectified by Bailey’s work regardless of his intentions. Will they listen? Well that depends on whether we make our voices heard.

If you haven’t already signed the petition then sign it. If they refuse to a meaningful discussion about its removal, then we’ll have no option but to march to the Barbican to show our feelings.

When are we going to stop people from kicking us around? Sign the petition and prepare to march for the dignity of Black people here and beyond.

Simon Woolley