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Black History Month 2023

28/09/2023

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Open Media launch 2023 Black History Month campaign in collaboration with blackhistorymonth.org.uk and the Anthony Walker Foundation.

Recognising the all important annual observance of Black History Month, this October, Open Media are delighted to be partnering with blackhistorymonth.org.uk to highlight a number of trailblazing black women, in an extensive campaign that will comprise support nationwide across Open’s digital out of home screens, social media amplification and a feature in blackhistorymonth.org.uk’s magazine.

The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘#SalutingOurSisters’, which pays tribute to the black women of past and present, who have made extraordinary contributions across various fields – from literature and music to fashion, sports, business, politics, academia, social care, and healthcare, the campaign will showcase the remarkable achievements of black women and highlight their diverse and profound impact on society.

The goal of having representation from the past and the present side by side in this campaign is to drive home the message that it is important to recognise the women who have inspired change previously, as well as those continuing that work today.

Collaboration

For the past three years, Open Media has partnered with The Anthony Walker Foundation to commemorate Black History Month, with these campaigns growing in size, scale and reach year on year.

Back in 2020, Open first began this Black History Month partnership with localised content shown across our Liverpool portfolio, featuring a multitude of change-makers and leaders from the black community, including players from both Everton FC and Liverpool FC, members of parliament and chart-topping superstars.

Each year, our Black History Month campaign and commitment has grown in size, incorporating a larger cohort of change-makers and eventually, culminating in a nationwide campaign in 2022.

Evolving the campaign for 2023

This year, Open have forged a new partnership to celebrate Black History Month 2023 with blackhistorymonth.org.uk to celebrate the #SalutingOurSisters theme.

Across Open Media’s DOOH portfolio, we will be spotlighting six prominent women on sites which are relevant to each individual and their relative stories and backgrounds. This will include influential names such as Dina Asher-Smith, an athlete who hails from London and was the first Briton to win three medals at the World Championships.

In localising the campaign message, Dina will be featured on Open’s BOXPARK Wembley and Wandsworth sites to strengthen the affinity of the campaign’s message, while serving as inspiration to those within the local community.

Black History Month is a time of celebration, recognition and sombre reflection. Black people from African and Caribbean communities have been an integral part of British history and society long before 1948.

Despite the epidemic of racism and unfairness affecting black people, we continue to break barriers and use our creativity and innovation to influence lives today. The theme ‘Saluting our Sisters’ plays homage to black women who had contributions ignored, ideas appropriated, and voices silenced.

Cherron Inko-Tariah MBE

Editor, Black History Month magazine.

Strengthening our previous work with the Anthony Walker Foundation, a special feature of this year’s campaign will include the creation of a bespoke piece of artwork, to champion the work of Dr Gee Walker MBE, Founder of the Anthony Walker Foundation – a not-for-profit organisation which works predominantly in Liverpool and the surrounding areas. Dr Gee will be spotlighted across our Liverpool OOH sites, connecting to audiences meaningfully within the region.

The Campaign
“I am thankful that black women are being acknowledged and celebrated. We need to recognise the many contributions black women have made throughout history and continue to make today.

Sadly, their exceptional achievements have often been overshadowed, diminished, or erased. Hopefully, we can inspire the next generation of young black women to dismantle the barriers, to strive and to achieve the success they rightfully deserve.

It’s time to shine the light on our past and present heroines. To all my sisters, rise and shine brightly like the stars that you are!”

The Foundation

“The Foundation’s work delivered here in Merseyside and much further afield is so important. Everyone associated with the Foundation is committed to making a difference, to challenge racial prejudice, discrimination, and inequality. Our aim is to promote peace, racial harmony and integrity. This is what I believe my Anthony would have been focusing on, had he lived”.

Dr Gee Walker MBE

Founder, Anthony Walker Foundation.

The campaign will launch nationwide Sunday 1st October and will run throughout this Black History Month. Stay tuned across our socials throughout the month, as we tell the stories of each of these trailblazing women in each of the relevant locations, as well as sharing our feature in blackhistorymonth.org.uk’s magazine.

Black History Month remains an important cultural fixture here at Open Media. By partnering with blackhistorymonth.org on this year’s campaign, it further exemplifies our commitment to championing diversity and inclusion as a business.

In utilising our premium and national DOOH networks, we are able to raise awareness of the all important observance while localising the campaign’s message to resonate with audiences in the communities we serve.

Lisa Pearson

Marketing Director, Open Media.

About the AWF & Founder, Gee Walker MBE.

Dr Gee Walker MBE is the Founder and Patron of the Anthony Walker Foundation, a charity established in 2006 shortly after the racially motivated murder of her son, Anthony Walker. Gee did not want Anthony’s murder to be another statistic, and despite losing her son to hatred, she drew on her Christian faith to forgive Anthony’s killers.

The Foundation works to support victims of race hate and challenge racism in all its forms through education, sport, and the arts. Gee has received numerous awards, including the Prime Minister’s Point of Lights award in 2016, the Echo Outstanding Achievement Award in 2020, The Pride of Britain Awards in 2021, and an MBE for her lifetime of work to promote racial harmony in the name of her son, Anthony.

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