(Image: Tatiana Gill via Flickr)
“I’m with Her” signs are popping up around the neighborhood as Election Day approaches. But another cause could use more support. A Capitol Hill neighbor writes to ask why there aren’t more visible signs of support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the yards and windows of Capitol Hill. Here is the note CHS received from T. Sheldon over the weekend:
Today I was driving around Columbia City and was floored by how many BLM supporting signs that were displayed. I was not the only one who noticed, my kiddo who is nine said excitedly, Look! Look at all the signs they have here. It seems like a small thing, to stick a sign in your window or stuck into your lawn but that visual support has a huge impact on the self worth and value of marginalized people. My family is biracial and we definitely appreciate every sign we see!!!
Coming home to 15th Ave it was clear our neighborhood is a bit behind. We have a sign in our window, I’ve seen one other one on 14th and that’s it. I believe that families and individuals here do support BLM and maybe just don’t know where or how to get the signs or shirts…so here are a few links and if you have amazon prime you could be showing your support by Wednesday when Seattle schools will be having showing support by having staff and kids wear BLM tee-shirts and hosting conversations about social justice and racial equality.
Yard Sign
https://peacesupplies.org/products/black_lives_matter_yard_sign/Window Sign
http://www.allposters.com/-st/Black–Lives–Matter-Posters_c263728_.htm
If not a poster, maybe a shirt? There will be a large show of support Wednesday as the #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool effort rallies educators across Seattle:
In the first action of its kind in the country, hundreds of teachers, counselor, instructional assistants, office staff, and other educators, will wear “Black Lives Matter” shirts to school on Wednesday, October 19th. At the time of this release, already over 700 shirts have been ordered by educators in Seattle.
This seems like a minefield to weigh in on, but I’ll give it a go. I think it boils down to the fact that there are less black people in Capitol Hill, especially the 15th St area. And, to be blunt, even though many white folks support the thought behind the movement, they disagree with the aggressiveness of how it’s being undertaken (whether that’s a fair perception or not). The phrase itself is also fairly divisive because it lacks clarity. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to explain, “No they aren’t saying ONLY black lives matter, they are saying we need to place equal value on black lives compared to white lives.”
For the record, I think the movement is an important one. The systemic impacts of slavery and, later, the lack of civils rights do not go away in a couple generations. There’s a lot of work to do to level the playing field.
I support the BLM campaign. But, there is something about the idea that I should display a sign in my yard as “proof” that really engages my stubborn streak. (This is not the first thing I’ve read that has made this inference, however subtle.) It’s like those Facebook memes urging you to copy and paste if you really care about issue X. I never copy and paste them, for the same reason.
There has been a spate of anti-Asian hate crimes in Seattle and I don’t see any advocacy for them. There have been several incidents of anti-Jewish racism in Seattle and I don’t hear a peep of condemnation over it. This paper covered the harassment of a Jewish owned business in the CD where the owner was threatened and subject to serious threats and slurs. I don’t see people putting up lawn signs for that. Why not?
i’m jewish, and i don’t think anti-jewish attacks is as pervasive as black people literally getting killed by police. let’s work on the hardest problems first and then get to the minor anti-semetic attacks after.
Zack- No thanks. It’s possible to do both. There is a reason why the latter is being ignored. The fact is many of these activists are the ones who are behind the anti-Jewish incidents. Trying to excuse them or minimalize them by saying police killings are worse is silly. If these people can’t muster up the decency to condemn the incidents which are committed by activists for their cause, they I will not support them. It’s pretty simple to just utter a few words of support when these anti-Jewish incidents have happened. They have been silent or apologists.
Wow, she uncovered a great opportunity for her to write in and showcase her glorious self indulgent sanctimony plus pointlessly guilt trip her neighbors at the same time! Why can’t everyone on 15th be as woke as her?
Could be worse. If you lived in Ravenna, this lady could be paying you a visit:
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/in-ravenna-and-beyond-black-lives-matter-to-whites-too/
I’ll go out on a limb here and wade into the same minefield….
I’d venture to guess 80% of people around Capitol Hill and the CD are supporters of Hillary Clinton. Yet in my neighborhood I see about 3 Clinton yard signs. Does that mean the neighborhood isn’t as overwhelmingly pro-Clinton as I think it is? I doubt it. I also don’t see ANY Trump signs. Not one. Do I think that means nobody around here is pro-Trump? Don’t believe that either.
You know what I think this proves?
That people don’t want to put up yard signs. That’s about it.
But for every sign put up by white progressives 10 lives of innocent black men shot by racist police will be averted.
I think that another factor is that many people, me included, are skeptical that yard signs of any type actually sway anyone’s opinion on an issue or a candidate.
BLM issued a statement a couple months ago demanding the US stop all aid to Israel, labeled it an apartheid state, and accused it of genocide. It’s ironic that a group that demands tons of “black only” stuff accuses someone else of apartheid. The number of civilians killed by Israel pales in comparison to the death toll in dozens of African and Islamic countries (yes I know there is overlap there). I wouldn’t have a problem cutting off aid to Israel if this was also applied to other countries too. It is ironic that it is called anti-black racism to single out blacks, hold them to higher standards than others, and punish them more severely than other races. But these black activists do the same thing to Jews. I have no obligation to support a group that parades its contempt for others. It is amazing the gall to believe that their openly racist attitudes aren’t going to turn people off. There are plenty of injustices against other groups but they don’t get a free pass at anti-black racism over it. Would that woman who wrote in, would she put up signs in her yard for a group fighting for gay rights that had a recent history of unapologic anti-black racism? Of course she wouldn’t.
Why aren’t there more Black Lives Matter signs on Capitol Hill?
Because I don’t support a hate group that trades in false narratives. Because the grievances of blacks gets more than it’s fair share of attention.
I’ve never seen a Trump sign in the neighborhood
either but that doesn’t mean he has no support here.
We can only hope that he doesn’t.
There are lots of positive ways to express our support for BLM – is the best way to spend money on a poster at AllPosters? The consumerist side of activism gets me down sometimes, though I definitely support the movement.
Related tangent – in general, I feel like there are fewer yard signs for this election than for previous ones. There are a crap-ton of initiatives on the ballot this year (have you seen your voters guide yet?!). I’ve seen only a smattering of CD7 and ST3 signs around and hardly any for the initiatives. Are proponents no longer advertising with yard signs? Maybe people are cooling off on signs in general?
One hates to bring facts into this fest of righteousness, but the majority of dwellings on Capitol Hill are in multi-unit buildings, which seldom permit signs.
Jesus saves all lives.
Yikes I feel bad for that kid if his mother taught him he needs a sign to validate his worth. This is leftist virtue signally at its finest. Ironically most of the signs posted in the south end are by gentrifying whites. I wonder when most of them were last in tukwilla or burien or places actual black lives live.
They’re tacky looking. Need redesigning to be more aesthetically pleasing.
If I had to wager a guess it’s because people would prefer to distance themselves from a group that – while a noble cause – executes it poorly with violence, etc. Not everyone wants to be associated with that – further, you can support the cause without a sign.
why did I read the comments. Thank you for this article. I’ve admired signs all over Madrona and the CD and didn’t think about how I could contribute myself. I’ve ordered a sign and will be displaying it proudly in my window.
Agreed. I can’t believe this. I’m buying a sign. Damn it, Seattle, be better.
I believe ALL LIVE matter. Do I have to have sign to show it? Just don’t wanna a sign, is that an issue? Can these activists stop being so sensitive?
If I had a yard, you bet I’d have a sign. Very important movement that needs to be front and center, as it helps elevate the struggles, discrimination and violence POC face everyday. We need to stand together.
Seeing support out in the street, ugly sign or not, keeps voices heard. Places matter!