Catch Des Moines is partnering with Raygun and the ACLU of Iowa on a campaign to fight racial inequities in the community, with sales of a T-shirt that reads “Des Moines: The s’s are silent, our voices are not.” 

Catch Des Moines released a statement last week to address the protests that grew out of the death of George Floyd, a black man, at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer. In the statement, Catch Des Moines said its job is to make everyone feel welcome, and they want visitors to see the community as a progressive and inclusive place. They said they also want the region’s minority-owned businesses to know they are supported. At the end of the message was the phrase, “Des Moines: The s’s are silent. Our voices cannot be.” 

That statement caught the attention of the folks at Raygun, which has published T-shirts with the “Des Moines, the s’s are silent” campaign before. The result was the T-shirt that contains a variation of the Catch Des Moines message. 

“Our job is to bring visitors to Greater Des Moines, of all nationalities, races, creeds and colors, and part of that is making them feel comfortable while they’re here, so we decided it was relevant for us to say something,” said Ben Handfelt, director of creative and communications at Catch Des Moines. “We just wanted to make sure that our statement was truthful and it was from the heart, and that we did include some things we can do to help be a part of the solution.” 

Mark Stringer, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said the T-shirt campaign is a good opportunity to let people know they can make a difference.

“We’re definitely grateful for the attention we will receive from this effort,” Stringer said. “I’d like to think one of the prime reasons for our work is to encourage people not to be silent and to understand dissent is patriotic and you should raise your voice when you have a grievance with our government or feel as if you’ve been treated unfairly.

“For us to be involved in this campaign will hopefully amplify that message.” 

Mike Draper, owner of Raygun, said his store “is always looking for ways to stay in tune with the rhythm of things going on in the community, and with the protests, wondering where we fit in.”

Draper said they saw the Catch Des Moines message and thought it would be a good one to promote. He said 35% of the proceeds from the sale of the T-shirts will go to the ACLU.

“We’re monthly donors to the ACLU and have worked with them on initiatives in the past,” Draper said. “They are one of 50 organizations we donate to regularly, and while we’re doing this [fundraiser], we have five others going on, too.”