#BlackLivesMatter Protesters Stock Forever 21 W/ 'Never 21' T-Shirts For Those Lost Too Young: http://t.co/x9oNzyu9Kx http://ift.tt/1bbmxTJ
— Keegan Stephan (@KeeganNYC) April 27, 2015
Protesters sneaked into New York City’s Forever 21 in Union Square, masquerading as employees, and dressed the store’s mannequins in “Black Lives Matter” tees, according to Black Enterprise. This covert operation was conducted by Never 21, an advocacy group, to draw attention to the number of young Black youths who never lived to see age 21 due to police brutality.
The Never 21 crew also erected a “Black Lives Matter” banner across the store’s second floor window, which was in plain view for passersby below.
“Countless underaged lives have been lost at the hands of ‘vigilantes’ and disgruntled police officers,” the Never 21 group posted on its site. “These youth were never given the chance to see age 21, or any age there after, so we respond by reminding the public of the battle that we are still actively fighting.”
The activists emphasized the ages of Black children who were killed at the hands of police officers, including Aiyana Jones (7 years old), Michael Brown (18 years old), Tamir Rice (12 years old), and Trayvon Martin (17 years old).
So how did the surreptitious project, which occurred on Saturday afternoon, pan out? Gothamist gives us the scoop:
“First a banner team, including a videographer and a legal observer, walked up to the second floor to hang the banner. The mannequin team entered as the banner team was on its way out, followed by three more protesters tasked with adding T-shirts to the clothing racks.”
“It was kind of the opposite of shoplifting,” an anonymous Never 21 team member told Gothamist. “We called it shop gifting, because we were putting shirts into the store rather than taking them out.”
Forever 21’s store manager caught wind of what was happening 20 minutes after the Black Lives Matter takeover and removed the t-shirts.
“This was not an attack on Forever 21,” the Never 21 advocates wrote on their video description. “In actuality, it is an opportunity for the popular retail conglomerate to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Whether they choose to support our message or be against it, this will not stop us from making sure that these voices continue to be heard.”
“Forever 21 is not associated with the Never 21 Project and had no prior knowledge of their public demonstration,” Forever 21 said in a statement.
No arrests have been made.
The Forever 21 Project: Never 21 from Never21 on Vimeo.
