Hollaback! Detroit: Taking It to the Streets
We are launching a street art campaign to end catcalling and street harassment in Detroit.
Leader
Brooke Harris
Location
800 Woodward Ave Detroit, MI 48226
About the project
Hollaback! Detroit was launched as one of the newest sites of the international anti-street harassment organization by two sisters who were fed up with feeling afraid in their own city. Having been followed, whistled and barked at, called all sorts of things outside their names, and experiencing vulgarity that is unfit to print, we decided that we had had enough.
Downtown and Midtown Detroit are oftentimes used as examples of the renaissance happening in the city. Though they are becoming more and more inviting to investors, entrepreneurs, and new residents, these areas are not a safe haven for all. We believe that public spaces should be safe and accessible to all people, and a first step to accomplishing that goal is to curb the instances of street harassment that happen all too often to women and other marginalized people in the city.
We started Hollaback! Detroit with the mission to increase the awareness of and discussion around street harassment in our city, eventually using education, activism, and organizing to end street harassment in Detroit once and for all. This project will be the beginning of a long campaign and will focus on using art to lower the instances of street harassment in Downtown and Midtown Detroit.
The Steps
We will commission four different stencil and sticker designs from local artists. Once the stickers are photocopied and the stencils are made, we will gather a group of volunteers to chalk stencil and sticker areas of the city that experience a lot of street harassment at the end of August.
Why we‘re doing it
Street harassment is an ever-present phenomenon in our city. Many women and other marginalized people do not feel safe in public spaces, as they are subjected to catcalls, whistles, groping, and other unwanted attention. All people should have safe and equal access to all areas of their city. No one should feel unsafe walking down the street, think twice about what they are wearing, be afraid to hold their partner’s hand, or change their behaviors or destination to avoid harassment.