racist graffiti

https://inews.co.uk/news/walthamstow-racist-sign-graffiti-transformed-diversity-local-artist/

Racist graffiti found in London this week was transformed in to a celebration of diversity by an artist. The sign originally said "Speak English" but when local artist Chris Walker saw it he added, "we" and then listed a huge range of other languages spoken in the area- Lithuanian, Panjabi (spelled incorrectly), Bulgarian, French, Turkish, Urdu, Tamil, Polish, Romanian, Cockney, French.

Chris posted the sign on twitter saying, "I can only assume our local 'artist' was spooked before he could finish his masterpiece, Allow me to finish it for you."

Chris said he wanted his altered sign to point out "The area's diversity is what makes it so great."

"I saw they'd left me quite a bit of space around their 'artwork' so I thought I'd fill in the blanks."

What do you see in the picture?
What is the sign about?
Why do you think the handwriting is different for English and the other words?

explain the story

- why do you think someone chose to write "Speak English" on a fence? (some people don't understand about No Outsiders yet; some people are scared of difference including hearing language they don't understand. Some people think their city is better with one kind of language, one kind of skin colour, one kind of faith; it's the opposite to what we know and what the artist Chris knows - our city is brilliant because of the different language, different race and different religion!)
- why do people say "Speak English" is racist?
- Why did Chris add "we"?
- Why did Chris add lots of different languages?
-Chris says "They left me quite a bit of space" and he, "filled in the blanks", "Allow me to finish it for you," what does he mean?
- Why didn't Chris just rub out the graffiti or paint over it?
- The new graffiti got lots of press attention and went viral on twitter - what does this show about people in the UK today and what they think about different language?
- What do you think the person who wrote the original words feels about the changes? How do we change attitudes towards difference when someone doesn't understand about No Outsiders?
- Why is this story about No Outsiders?

No Outsiders in our school: Teaching the Equality Act in primary schools by Andrew Moffat

Reclaiming radical ideas in schools: Preparing young children for life in modern Britain by Andrew Moffat