Youth-Led Poster Campaign Brings Anti-Racism Message Across Alberta

When considering how racism manifests in the lives of people, it is typically through the lens of how it impacts them as adults, but the impact on young people is often overlooked. The “Not in My Backyard” art campaign subverts the idea of what is considered undesirable in society by asking: 

Who feels at home in our shared spaces? 

Who is made to feel like they don’t belong? 

Too often, young people feel isolated in their experiences with racism and discrimination, and this project aimed to show that while youth across the province are grappling with the same challenges, they are standing and speaking up together. The John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights brought young people from Lethbridge, Calgary, Wetaskiwin, Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Beaumont, and Grande Prairie together in their communities to unpack their experiences and create art that illustrated their stories. 

A thousand posters came out of these gatherings. They were placed in apartment buildings, schools, cafés, universities, parks, and other public spaces. Visibility and awareness were key to this campaign to highlight and challenge the assumption that racism is only a problem in major urban centres. 

However, this campaign is more than just posters. It’s a call to action: it shows youth resilience and their refusal to let discrimination go unseen. Through art and resistance, young people are not only starting important conversations, they’re also creating a sense of connection and collective strength that stretches across the province.