George Floyd’s murder on May 25th, 2020 in Minneapolis, MN sparked worldwide outrage and called a global spotlight to the ongoing injustices Black Americans suffer at the hand of police throughout the city.

The pent-up rage against the police erupted in emotional cries for drastic change and resulted in a push to eliminate the police force entirely. This concept arose at the intersection of cultural issues that reached as far back as slavery, to the Jim Crow south, and through the role of law and order in modern society, and the everpresent racism African-Americans still face today.

The issue was to be brought to a vote on November 2, 2021. Not On My Watch was created to unify the African-American leaders in Minneapolis, Minnesota in opposition to the campaign to defund the police.

Spearheaded by the Rae Mackenzie Group, the Not On My Watch campaign unified the voices of prominent local leaders with the mission to defend their community and educate the population about their voting options.

The campaign included recorded interviews with African-American leaders, and a graphic line published on social networks and in large format billboards and posters.

The graphics were designed to be dynamic and bold, and were focused on sparking urgency to take action. The logo transforms into the eyes of the population which sets the visual tone of the piece. The predominantly black and white background images helped convey the stark contrast between the options in the upcoming election and the prominent red foreground drove home the urgent caution necessary when deciding this critical issue.

The campaign was able to successfully accomplish the mission of educating the population and the political action it supported succeeded in the following election. The local community leaders supported by the campaign finished with a bright outlook on the future of their cause.