Promote Anti-Racism St. Pete offers free anti-racism signs and book rentals. Photos courtesy of Promote Anti-Racism St. Pete
Address the Issue: Promote Anti-Racism St. Pete “It started with the uprisings over George Floyd’s death last summer,” says Madeline Mahon, founder and director of Promote AntiRacism St. Pete. “I wanted to find a way to show solidarity and support for people who, like myself, were unable to attend the protests. I ordered a 10 pack of BLM signs from Signs of Justice, and offered the remainder on NextDoor for free. Due to the amount of interest, I started raising money to fund a variety of signs while continuing to offer them for free or donation.”
active role, while continuing to educate herself and expand her comprehension. “By listening to Black anti-racism educators, I began learning and considering what more I could do, as a white woman, to help support the movement for racial justice,” she says. “This led me to begin partnering with one of the sign recipients, Kayla Brown, to create a small library of books by BIPOC authors Madeline Mahon, founder and director of Promote Anti-Racism St. Pete, that we could lend to anyone with her dog Triton who wanted to work on their ant-racism journey (no matter if they were new to the work or been engaged in it for a while). At the time, libraries were also closed due to Covid. Early on, I had given some signs to Rev. Andy Oliver at Allendale United Methodist Church, and he generously offered us space at the church to use.” As Promote Anti-Racism St. Pete took off on Nextdoor and Instagram, they linked up with other like-minded groups, donating signs to local activist groups like Tampa People’s Protest and Black Lives Matter Pasco, and handing them out at Roll to the Polls events, organized by the Carter G. Woodson Museum.
Listen and learn
Dismantling white supremacy
Madeline has been busy. So many of us have felt hopeless over the past year, recognizing the rot of racism in our country, but unsure what to do about it. Allyship is often seen as passive, but Madeline has taken an
“We’re like a free gateway into the movement for those who don’t know where to begin or how to get involved,” Madeline says of the group. “We would love to see more people (white people especially)
By Erin Cody
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GREENBENCHMONTHLY.COM / MAY 2021
