A Bristol student's campaign to support Black Lives Matter and increase awareness of systemic racism

By Jack Charters, Features Editor

With Bristol’s Black Lives Matter protest reaching a dramatic crescendo on Sunday with the tipping of the controversial Edward Colston statue into the Avon, one student has stepped up to raise funds for the movement.

Bristol student Rohan Jobanputra, a first-year Physics & Philosophy undergraduate, hopes to fundraise for the Minnesota Freedom Fund and raise awareness for Black Lives Matter through selling T-shirts.

‘I wanted to do something to help, and wasn’t sure how to do that beyond donating and signing petitions, both of which are also important. This seemed like a really simple way to fundraise and campaign for the movement.’

|How Bristol students can get involved with Black Lives Matter.

The tee, which features ‘Black Lives Matter.’ underlined by a rose on the front, is meant to ‘keep the design simple’, in the hope that it is ‘unambiguous’ and that it ‘does not detract from the message’. Through the sale of the T-shirts, Rohan hopes to ‘raise money for bail funds of BLM protesters’ whilst at the same time ‘ensuring the movement stays important and relevant’.

The Minnesota Freedom Fund, to which all profits from Rohan's campaign will go, helps those financially unable to pay for criminal bail and immigration bond. In recent days, high profile celebrities like Steve Carrell, Don Cheadle, and Seth Rogan have all contributed to the bail alleviation fund.

However the sale of the T-shirts is not solely for financial support - Rohan hopes that 'if someone owns a T-shirt that says ‘Black Lives Matter’ and continues to wear it, they’ll continue to have conversations about systemic racism, and continue to be aware of it in their lives’.

Racism does not manifest itself exclusively in overt discrimination; in many cases it is much more subtle. Accordingly, it is hoped the shirts will cultivate conversation among students about this: 'I think that the student community must continue to be aware of the presence of structural racism long after the protests die down'.

To Rohan, an example of this understated racism is ‘when people make comments about "international students", they’re often thinly veiled racist statements. Calling out racism on and off campus, especially in social circles where our words have an impact is very important.

'I think that I have managed to avoid overt racism and stereotyping throughout my life by fitting in with the false narrative of the “good immigrant”, and code-switching, in effect, learning to speak and act as if I’m white, and downplaying my Indian heritage'.

'I think that students should educate themselves on the history of racism in this country, and the everyday experience of people of colour. In studying philosophy, I have been very aware of the fact that the majority of thinkers we have learned about have been white and male. I think more should be done to amplify black voices which are often neglected in academia, or restricted merely to talking about their race, rather than other fields of study’.

Rohan recommends several starting points where students can educate themselves on such topics. Firstly he advises listening to Reni Eddo-Lodge’s podcast ‘About Race’ and reading her book 'Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race'. He also cites George the Poet’s podcast and the writings of Kimberlé Crenshaw as other good starting points in looking at the 'experiences of people of colour'.

The T-shirts are available to order here from Everpress until 27 June, with all profits going to the Minnesota Freedom Fund.

Featured Image: Everpress/Rohan Jobanputra