Black ribbon

Standard black ribbon. This has been used for POW/MIA remembrance, Anarchist Black Ribbon Campaign,^[1] Mourning and remembrance of the Virginia Tech massacre,^[2] and Melanoma awareness.

The black ribbon, like similar awareness ribbons, is worn or displayed as a political statement.

The ribbon has been used in a variety of manners:

• In the United Kingdom after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997
• Until General Musharraf's resignation as army chief, few Pakistanis across the world wore black ribbons and displayed it as their ID on the internet to protest against what in their view was the Martial Law imposed by President General Musharraf in Pakistan on the 3rd of November, 2007. In the city of Karachi, a group known as SOS- Subversive Operations Service painted the city's walls with the symbol as a sign of resistance against the Martial Law and its resultant crackdown on politicians and the country's intelligentsia, most of whom were later found out to be corrupt and anti state.
• By the Anarchist Blue Ribbon Campaign, a free speech campaign started in 1996 inspired by the Blue Ribbon Online Free Speech Campaign.^[1][3]
• The black ribbon has again made an appearance shortly after a category 4 Hurricane Katrina landed on the Gulf of Mexico area in September 2005. New Orleans was destroyed and many cities in the Mississippi Gulf Coast area obliterated.
• The black ribbon was a symbol of popular grief in Spain after the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks. It was worn on clothing and also pinned on the Spanish flag (notably by politicians during the campaign for the 2004 legislative election, taking place at the same time).
• After the 7 July 2005 London bombings, Google displayed a black ribbon as a mark of respect and sympathy. Google also displayed a black ribbon on their website to support the Hurricane Katrina relief effort in September 2005.
• Metal fans use black ribbons to remember Dimebag Darrell, who was murdered on stage on December 8, 2004.
• The black ribbon has been used as a symbol of melanoma awareness before its adoption to other things.
• After the earthquake on August 15, 2007 in Peru, black ribbons were the icons of all Peruvian television channels for 3 days
• After the death of Heath Ledger in January 2008, Warner Brothers placed a black ribbon on their marketing website www.whysoserious.com for The Dark Knight in his memory.
• In the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, the black ribbon is worn by vampires to show that they have sworn never to drink blood again.
• The black ribbon has been also used by the journalists in the Philippines to condemn the killings of journalists on the Maguindanao massacre.^[4]

Variations of the ribbon

London Ribbon

Black ribbon sticker that appeared on vehicles in honor of Dimebag Darrell

TortureProtest.org black ribbon campaign

References

External links

• The TortureProtest.org Black Ribbon Campaign

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