The world is currently coming together to march and demonstrate its anger and outrage at the racism and discrimination black people are facing around the world. After the tragic murder of George Floyd in the USA, many have taken to the streets and social media to say loud and clear that BLACK LIVES MATTER.
At Invisible Cities, we have been thinking about our role in spreading the message of equality and of coming together to stand against racism. At our core, we believe that everyone is equal yet unique and everyone has a story to tell. We also believe our stories have power and we are committed in having those stories told and heard wide and far.
There is one quote I recently read that resonated with me:
“A collective failure to look the history of empire in the eye stops us from being the kind of country we could be” Guardian columnist Martin Kettle”
This where Invisible Cities can act.
Knowing our history and the consequences of this history matters and we should all play a part in acknowledging it and understanding it. Unfortunately those consequences are part of the reasons why people are oppressed, discriminated and not represented in our society today. The current debate in Edinburgh, wanting to remove or at least alter the statue of Henry Dundas (who played a part in delaying slavery abolition) is valid and should happen. Our cities should reflect our societies and the people who live in them. They should not discriminate some of its citizens.
That is why one of the things we have decided to do is create content and booklets on Black History in our cities, starting with one on Edinburgh that you can see here.
We commit to have more of these designed and to spread the word about them, as we all believe that without knowledge there can be no understanding and thus no peace.
Zakia
