Racial Justice Poster Project

The Racial Justice Poster Project of the Akonadi Foundation encourages a creative outpouring of poster art that reflects the lives of people in communities of color, their movements for social change, and their vision for a world without racism. In Oakland, daily social justice stories in communities of color go untold – students challenging the “achievement gap” by demanding schools with college-track courses; neighbors refusing to let developing projects displace them and destroy their livelihood and culture; young people producing music that speaks of their lives and struggles; communities rallying against racial profiling and police harassment; parents calling for more investment in schools and less in jails; people calling for jobs that contribute to the health of their communities. Each of these stories and images remain largely invisible to the larger public, yet each represents an important strand in building the larger movement for racial justice. The project urges the Oakland community to “Show the world what racial justice looks like. Help translate these stories into a poster design.” Poster submissions must focus on an image or story related to the racial justice movement in Oakland or the Bay Area. Artworks are judged by local activist leaders not only on their artistic merits, but also their potential to inspire and inform the racial justice movement. The winning artist receives a $1500 prize that includes $1000 for the artist a $500 donation to an Oakland community organization of the artist’s choice.