Yesterday, March 21, was the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. To show some love for diversity, as well as celebrate diversity among their employees, both BMW and Mercedes-Benz teamed up for a social media post.
On BMW Group’s Twitter account, the Bavarians posted a photo of a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which isn’t something you often see without some snarky caption. However, instead of some rival ribbing, the caption of the photo read: “Now that we have your attention: Today is International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Two competitors have united to defend a common belief: diversity is what brings our companies success. Let’s all stand as one to #FightRacism”
At the same time, Mercedes-Benz made the same post but instead of having a photo of a C-Class, it was replaced with a photo of the new G20 3 Series. So the two brands came together to celebrate diversity by celebrating each other, which is kind of nice.
It’s also important to understand the point of the day. The UN’s “IDERD” (which admittedly sounds too silly abbreviated for such an important day) was created in 1966 to remember and reflect on the Sharpeville massacre of 1960, in South Africa. On that day, police fired on black South African protesters, tragically killing 69 people and wounding more than double that number. So to remember such a horrific event and pay tribute to the people who lost their lives, the UN created the International Day to Eliminate Racial Discrimination.
Obviously, BMW and Mercedes tweeting each other’s cars isn’t some grand display of racial unity but it’s about as much as a car company’s social media can do, I guess. It’s just good that the two brands did something to honor the day and we’re happy to see the unity among rivals.
To learn more about the tragic even from Sharpeville, see here.
