'Real Housewives of Atlanta' 'Black Wives Matter' promo poster riles some
By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, filed January 27, 2015
A reader named Gertrude sent us a photo of a promotional poster above, which plays off the civil rights slogan "Black Lives Matter," upset by its content given that it's promoting "Real Housewives of Atlanta."
I am new to Atlanta from New Jersey for a corporate job. I first saw the attached advertisement for The Real Housewives of Atlanta this morning at Lenox Square Mall on a wall. When I was out running errands later in the day at North Point Mall I came across a ton more of these offensive advertisements that are produced by a major television network riffing on the Black Lives Matter movement. Who does Bravo think they are to put up such racially insensitive materials!? Major corporations do not have the right to do say these types of things! This is what is continuing to oppress the masses!I tore down one of the posters I found because it was not well attached to the wall. You can see the images from my camera.
Thank you
Gertrude
The "Black Lives Matter" signage has popped up in protest marches all over the country following the Ferguson shooting. CREDIT: Getty Images
Then we received a note today from the design company that made the posters, disavowing them:
We are deeply sorry for propagating social injustice and pain in America. We are coming out about this because it has conflicted with our morals as a multi-racial design team. Major corporations and celebrities continue to exploit our culture for economic gain and as designers need to begin to stand our ground.
Unfortunately through the Atlanta team's manipulation techniques they are attempting to gain recognition through controversy and we feel this is immoral. This must stop NOW. Bravo and their affiliates must be held accountable because they continue to promote bad role models and distract our culture of the critical issues facing our country.
To prove it was us we attached the original .PSD file with all the separate image layers. The posters were sent early Jan to a PO box in Atlanta. We do not know who put them up or where but we sent 50 total. We are trying to stop the rest from being put up. We are deeply sorry to anyone this hurt or angered. Again, we cannot apologize enough for allowing this period of cultural havoc to break down our already fragile society.
Sincerely,
Jamal J, Shannon G and Seoyeon M
A Bravo spokesperson confirmed, “These posters were not created by or are in any way affiliated with Bravo."
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
