Essence Magazine Launches #HeIsNotASuspect Campaign

ESSENCE, the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women, is launching #HeIsNotASuspect, a powerful social media caign and movement in response to the George Zimmerman verdict aimed at stopping racial profiling of African-American males. The goal of this counter-stereotyping caign, which launches today, is to declare to the world that young Black men are valued, loved and not to be feared.”ESSENCE editors have been flooded with responses ranging from anger to sadness over the Zimmerman verdict”especially from Black mothers who daily worry about the dangers their sons face when they are profiled without consequence,” said ESSENCE Acting Managing Editor Vanessa Bush. “ESSENCE’s #HeIsNotASuspect caign is designed to challenge negative images of young African-American men. We also wanted to create a forum for mothers, grandmothers, aunts and everyone else to proclaim that young African-American men are to be celebrated and not feared.”Readers simply need to upload to Instagram or Facebook a photo of themselves and a young Black man they care about”a son, brother, nephew, cousin, neighbor”and tell ESSENCE in a few words why he’s so much more than a stereotype, using the hashtag #HeIsNotASuspect.