City Removes Controversial Image Following Public Concern
A municipal awareness campaign in Gatineau has removed one of its posters following criticisms that the imagery reinforced harmful anti-Black stereotypes. The visual showed a Black woman wearing a dragon-like mask appearing to threaten a white male city employee, with the French caption stating: “With our employees, there’s no reason to be rude. In Gatineau, we respect each other.”
Public Reaction Sparks Removal
The poster came under scrutiny when Papa Ladjiké Diouf, a psychotherapist and mental health professional, visited a local library with his 10-year-old son. “He spontaneously said to me, ‘Dad, look… that’s weird. Why did they put a Black woman in a dinosaur mask trying to hit a white man?'” Diouf stated in a social media post. “It perpetuates racist stereotypes passed down through generations: that Black people are violent; that Black women are angry, aggressive and uncontrollable.”
Community advocates including César Ndema-Moussa of Roots and Culture Canada and Charles Makaza from the Black Community Council of Gatineau echoed these concerns, noting this was the only poster in the series depicting a Black person as the aggressor, while all other images showed white individuals as both employees and perpetrators.
Municipal Response and Campaign Context
The awareness initiative, launched in September through the city’s transit agency, aimed to address increasing reports of uncivil behavior toward municipal staff. Officials emphasized in an official statement that the poster “is in no way intended to convey a discriminatory message” but acknowledged the imagery could be open to misinterpretation.
“In the interest of responsibility, consistency, and preventing any potentially negative interpretations, it seems preferable to remove this image,” the city confirmed, adding that the removal aligns with their commitment to inclusion and respect. The poster has been withdrawn from all physical and digital platforms.
