Malta Public Transport Pausing ‘Blackface’ Campaign Following Equality Commission’s Call For Withdrawal
Malta Public Transport has just announced that the educational road safety campaign that has been accused of using ‘blackface’ is going to be paused.
This comes after multiple discussions were sparked in a number of communities on whether the educational campaign contains racist stereotypes, with the NPCE calling for withdrawal of the campaign earlier today.
“Malta Public Transport would like to ensure that its educational content clearly communicated its values of inclusivity and equal opportunities, therefore the campaign will be paused until it has been discussed with all stakeholders,” MPT said in a statement.
It continued to say that after the discussions a consensus will be reached as to the best method to raise awareness on road safety.
“The company has reached out to the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality, Black Lives Matter Malta and the African Media Association to discuss the educational videos being produced to promote Road Safety in Malta,” it said.
The call for the withdrawal of the campaign is on the grounds of racist and gender stereotypes, following accusations of the use of ‘blackface’ in the videos.
This comes after anti-racism movement Black Lives Matter Malta called out and criticised the educational campaign and said it had “a problematic association between blackness and bad or reprehensive behaviour”.
The videos were created in collaboration with Mapfre Malta and Malta Public Transport.
Both Mapfre Malta and Malta Public Transport denied that the campaign contains racist implications.
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