New Mural Promotes Positive Change

Last year, students of the Amnesty Youth Group at Kristin explored the political and social movement Black Lives Matter (BLM).

This movement has a long history but the term BLM was coined in 2013. It reached a worldwide audience in 2020 with the unjustifiable death of US citizen George Floyd while being taken into custody by police.

Students wanted to raise awareness of racism within society, and the fact that it impacts not only black people but any ethic or minority group who can become the target of prejudice and discrimination. It was decided to create a large mural of a woman and her child, holding a banner, inspired by a photo seen in the news. The final design adopted is not just related to BLM but it is also a statement that every person’s life matters, their rights are protected and, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age or sexual orientation, we should aim to treat every person with equality and respect.

A big thanks to Stella Mackenzie and Sherise Naidoo, who created this stunning mural, which is now displayed in the Humanities and Commerce block. Stella and Sherise are part of our highly dedicated and active Amnesty International Club.

Stella writes about the project: “We wanted to pay tribute to movements working to fight racism and discrimination such as Black Lives Matter. Having chosen to focus on the concept of social movements in the protection of human rights, our designs developed in an attempt to capture the essence of protest for change. The image of the mother and child was chosen to represent a generational effort to defend the rights of loved ones as well as those yet to be born.

In terms of design, I wanted to use a bold, unapologetic colour scheme to reflect the nature of the BLM movement. The backing circle is intended to be reminiscent of a rising sun, as well as an encompassing feature to unify the figures of the protest. Everyone but the mother and child are lacking in features or distinction, as we wanted the power of the movement itself to shine, rather than a sea of faces that can become lost among one another. We believed it would be reductive to paint individual people within the group, as the movement is greater than its constituent parts.”

We look forward to Amnesty International continuing to share their message of human rights and protecting those most vulnerable.

Monika Schnibbe-Bhargav

Stella Mackenzie and Sherise Naidoo.