Activist Group Stocks Forever 21 Store in New York City With 'Black Lives Matter' Shirts As Part of the 'Never 21' Project. | SUPERSELECTED - Black Fashion Magazine Black Models Black Contemporary Artists Art Black Musicians

Activist Group Stocks Forever 21 Store in New York City With ‘Black Lives Matter’ Shirts As Part of the ‘Never 21’ Project.

by superselected · Black Lives Matter, Forever 21, Never 21, Police Brutality · 27 Apr 2015

Activist Group Never 21 recently made a poignant statement on how state violence impacts children by changing the displays and hanging a banner in the window of a Forever 21 store in the Union Square section of New York City.

The project employs a font and color scheme similar to that of the fast fashion retailer to bring awareness. Their website reads,

Countless underaged lives have been lost at the hands of ‘vigilantes’ and disgruntled police officers. These youth were never given the chance to see age 21, or any age there after, so we respond by reminding the public of the battle that we are still actively fighting. We care about the lives of Black men. We care about the lives of Black women. We care about the lives of Black CHILDREN.

We will not forget these lives – and will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that their voices continue to be heard.

A member of the anonymous group tells Gothamist about the demonstration, “We planned for a long time, and practiced beforehand on mannequins. We had the shirts sized large so that they would be easy to slip on. No one paid attention to us,” she said. “The door alarm kept going off for people who were trying to make returns.”

The display stayed up for about 20 minutes before it was eventually removed by store employees. It definitely attracted quite a bit of attention during a busy time in this heavily trafficked part of New York City.

The group also stresses that the demonstration is not an attack on Forever 21.

This was not an attack on Forever 21. In actuality, it is an opportunity for the popular retail conglomerate to support the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Whether they choose to support our message or be against it, this will not stop us from making sure that these voices continue to be heard.

Forever 21 has not responded to most media outlets requesting comments but did release a statement saying that they are “not associated with the Never 21 Project and had no prior knowledge of their public demonstration.”

Watch video of the demonstration below.