Brixton Finishing School alumni unveil #BrixtonRising campaign on 40th anniversary of Brixton Uprising

To mark the date Brixton Finishing School, the scheme breaking down barriers to entry for underserved young people, are running the #BrixtonRising campaign. This initiative celebrates 40 of their most promising graduates and rising stars who are already changing the face of adland for the better.

And while the campaign highlights the tremendous work that graduates have put in to achieve their goals, it also serves as a stark reminder that although 40 years have passed since the uprising. There is still a large divide between the mainstream narrative, shown in the recent Sewell report on institutional racism and the actual lived experience of black, brown and underrepresented communities in this country.

#BrixtonRising aims to reclaim the narrative of entry-level talent from a variety of cultural backgrounds by shining the spotlight on 40 recent talents to graduate from the school, highlighting their early successes within the industry.

From a junior strategist at Rapp, programmatic activation executive at Manning Gottleib and nanny at Mother to an art director at CDM, marketing assistant at KFC, production exec at LEGO Group and a copywriter at Amazon, all of the young people featured in the #BrixtonRising campaign have graduated from the school within the past four years.

Created in house by Keda Bamber and Demi Chang, graduates from Brixton Finishing School’s Class of 2020, the campaign will be amplified by support from the programme’s mentors and partners.

Brixton Finishing School founder Ally Owen commented:

“This month marks the anniversary of 40 years since the Brixton Uprising and the subsequent publication of Lord Scarman’s report and its commentary on institutional racism.  Four decades on, we have another report that does not accurately represent the lived experiences of our young people.

“With our #BrixtonRising campaign, we want to place the narrative clearly on the talents that deserve it – the talents that are breaking into our industry, enriching it with their dynamism and keeping it future fit and relevant. Working life on average spans four decades. Our graduates are at the beginning of their journey. It is up to us, the industry,  to unite and drive positive change and make the next 40 years count. We cannot drag our feet any longer.”