The U.S. is home to over 1800 Confederate Statues, hateful symbols of its racist past. The statues are of people who fought to preserve the institution of slavery and to ensure the entire Black race was misrepresented, undervalued and tortured. In 2020, the turn of a new decade, proved that old racial inequalities had reached a tipping point in America. A rise of confederate symbols across the nation were being torn down, leaving many wondering how the empty pedestals would be repurposed. Many of them were left alone, sitting empty in cities such as Austin, Atlanta and DC. Although bare, it became an ongoing reminder of the nation’s tumultuous racial history. Color Of Change decided to reignite the petition to remove all Confederate statues from public spaces, replace the empty pedestals where hate once stood with new symbols of equality and progress.

As huge protests bringing down statues that represented racism swept through the United States in 2020, they left a sea of empty pedestals in their wake. With the world on lockdown and access to the Color Of Change 1.2 million supporters on Instagram, we created The Pedestal Project, an Augmented Reality experience that enabled the people to use their mobile phones and the power of social media to place statues of racial justice leaders where symbols of racism once stood. We worked with a Black sculpture artist, talented CGI designers and crafty developers to create realistic depictions of statues of Black Civil Rights Activists - representing the past, present and future. Each could be placed atop of any pedestal and from any angle. Each activist had their voice recording placed over their respective sculptures, offering the user perception they were front and center at the momentous rallies.

Color of Change - Pedestal Project

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