This was a work I felt an extreme need to see in the furry community.

I searched on FA to see if I could locate any image that dealt with the black lives matter movement and combating racism. Something I could fave. Much to my surprise there was not a singe one in my search result. :( It was then that I knew I had to make this drawing.

I want to make a statement that i feel that if the furry community is to be a truly all accepting and tight-knit subculture, then we should also for the sake of our fellow minority furs and the world around us, stand in solidarity with loving support and understanding for those persecuted by contemporary american society.

This may not be what the furry community is right now, but it is what I had thought it would be when I was young and would like to see it be. A socially liberal group where everyone is free to express themselves and not face persecution for their essential identity.

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So in this picture I incorporated anthros who were of African origin. A lion, a black panther leopard, a jackal, a hyena (my very own Sherako :) ), and the giant elephant. They represent to me the furry equivalent of a person of African descent. My own squirrel fursona Rufe is there too participating as an ally, in the back of the group (allys should never place themselves as leaders of the group). I tried my best to draw characters that were evocative of African American culture as best I could with a level of respect, trying to avoid stereotypes while not pushing the idea of cultural integration (I.E. I tried to draw them as they really are). Thats a big area when it comes to racism in America. People can say and believe that they are not racist simply by claiming they dont look at skin color. But the root of racism today lies most heavily in negative perceptions of minority culture.

To give an example of the negative perceptions and archetypes that generate racism, I have provided a link to the video of the death of John Crawford III who was killed by police in a Walmart because they thoguht the toy gun he had picked up in the store was in fact a real assault weapon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqZ-teZsZmo

In this video John Crawford III, a black male, picks up a toy rifle from the shelves at the walmart and walks around carrying the toy while talking on his cellphone. The security staff and customers assume it is a real weapon and the police are called, whom enter the store in combat mode and then fire upon John as soon as they see him, killing him. In the video you can hear the 911 caller claim he is 'arming' the gun and 'pointing it around'. When in fact again, this was a toy and a product from the store. Ask yourselves, why did the caller claim he was armed and arming himself? It is because the caller saw a black male with what appeared to be a weapon and instantly assumed that John was planning real violence.

I am sure the caller would not describe themselves as racist. But that is not enough. For racism is really a subconscious learned behavior that occurs in a flash of a moment. He saw this image of a young black man talking on his phone with a toy gun and immediately gave into his instinctive behavior, his internal learned racism: prejudice. It also must be asked why the police fired upon him before he even was aware of them, he did not even raise his toy gun at them. The end result is this man died because of a mistaken prejudice assumption about African-American culture.

No charges were filed against the police in the death despite vocal calls for justice from the man's family.

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Stereotypes do not apply across the board. We should all know that as furries and a sexually diverse community. It is unfair to hold someone to these instinctive learned stereotype behaviors. For those in the African-American community, it can have dire consequences.

If you are against racism, it is not enough to just simply say to others and yourself that you do not judge people by skin color. You need to combat the subconscious instinct for snap prejudice assumptions. That takes work. It takes self-policing. It takes questioning your thought patterns and being aware of what goes into how you make quick decisions. Because very few people can really claim to be free of racism and prejudice. It is not a simple statement of intent. It is a real metal exercise and behavioral training. But this is what you should do if you truly believe everyone should be given an equal chance.

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I hope that this drawing does inspire some, and amuse a few. :) I had a really great time drawing these characters, and I really loved being able to revive my very old hyena char Sherako for this pic :) hes such the sensual beast :3 the dirty rebel XD and I love giving him a pair of cute green retro shoes that he wears barefoot and gets all dingy and worn... hehehe And I love my char Rufe's over excited-ness, his big red tail all bushy and waving about like squirrels doo. And that lion guy... his powerful face... achk I should stop now!