UW-Madison publicly distances from anti-police hoodies
The university makes clear it is not endorsing these sweatshirts
According to an article published by Media Trackers, UW-Madison has made it clear they are not responsible for the anti-police and anti-racism hoodies produced on the campus. “The clothing shown in these Facebook posts is not produced nor endorsed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison,” administration claims. “In this case, the individuals involved are exercising their rights to free speech and engaging in a private activity unrelated to their status as students.”
Students feel similarly. When publishing the news about the sweatshirts prior to UW-Madison’s stand on distance, we received responses like this on our article.
University of Wisconsin–Madison sophomore Eneale Pickett is the creator of these hoodies, and they can be found on Etsy under InsertapparelShop.
Some of the sweatshirt designs include phrases like “All white people are racist” and “If I encounter another cop with a God complex I’m going to have to show the world that they are human”, promoting both anti-racism and violence against members of the police force.
One sweatshirt promotes awareness against homophobia, saying “you can’t be revolutionary and homophobic.” And another addresses sexism saying, “Attention! Black Men: If you’re talking about dismantling a system, you better include patriarchy.”
The goal to promote awareness of racial disparity has been met with negative comments, and Facebook has stepped in to delete one of the sweatshirt pictures, because it did not comply with their Community Standards. With racism controlling our news and media, these sweatshirts are hoping to change the conversation.