It doesn’t seem like “knitting” and racism would ever be in the same sentence. But who does everyone think of when they think of knitting? An older white woman. A white woman is believed to have more free time, and more means to be able to knit as a hobby. Groups such as “Yarn Bombing L.A” and The Yarn Mission are only a few trying to change the racial divide in America but also the racial misconceptions found in knitting. Knitting has allowed community’s to come together to peacefully protest issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement which fights for racial equality and against police brutality among black individuals. When Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson, Missouri police, his death led to protests and riots across the country. The Yarn Mission, is a knitting circle in Ferguson, MO, that has brunch every other Sunday to discuss the racial barriers black people face, all the while knitting pieces.
One of the most powerful messages of racial inequality seen through knitting is seen through Yarn Bombing L.A., who on top of making large projects to cover three-story buildings, they also take knitting squares and form them around letters to spread the message of kindness, and fighting for Black Lives Matter and speaking out against police brutality.