A new video titled Hey White People from the T-shirt company FCKH8.com features Black kids from Ferguson, Missouri, who have a message for the general population about racism.
One month after Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, was fatally shot multiple times by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, the company released this video in order to address issues of racism in a more creative manner.
The video is just under three minutes long and explains why the idea that racism doesn’t exist is not only incorrect, but it’s also annoying and downright disrespectful to the people who have to deal with racism every day.
The video combines hard facts and sarcastic comedy to address claims that Black people are always playing the “race card” and that having a Black friend doesn’t automatically disqualify anyone from being racist.
At one point, a young girl responds to the “race card” myth by saying, “No one’s playing cards. This is not a game.”
A young boy in the video sarcastically offers white people a cookie for having Black friends.
For some white people, listening to music by Black artists or having a Black president in office is enough for them to feel as if they can never be racist.
The Ferguson children were quick to dispel that idea as well.
“Just because Beyonce is on your playlist and you voted for Obama, doesn’t mean that our generation has been the end of racist drama,” the children explain.
The video’s producer, Marcus Kon, explained that the video is a “wake-up call for America.”
“All of the children featured in the video were auditioned and cast right there on the sidewalk next to where Mike Brown was gunned down,” Kon said, according to IndieWire. “This could have been any one of them. Working with the kids and their parents, some of whom saw the shooting with their own eyes, was emotional and powerful and it all comes across in the video.”
The video’s director understood that the video might be uncomfortable for white people to watch, but they need to consider how uncomfortable it is for Black kids who are trying to find success and proposer in a world still fighting with racism.
“Some white people may be uncomfortable with the blunt tone of how these articulate and adorable Ferguson kids point out the racism they still face at the hands of white people,” video director Luke Montgomery said. “As a white guy myself, I’m OK with that. If they think hearing about racism is difficult, they should try being black and living in America.”
The video not only draws attention to racism and honors Brown, but it also urges viewers to purchase a T-shirt from the company in order to help out with their valiant efforts.
The shirts start at $13 and $5 of every purchase goes directly to five anti-racism organizations and projects including the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and the Brown Memorial Fund.
The children in the video are all wearing a T-shirt with the slogan, “Racism is not over. But I’m over racism.”
You can watch the full video below:
