Darcy Bourne exclusive: ‘Why is ending racism a debate?’

Darcy Bourne was 18 and living at home with her parents when she painted onto a cardboard sign six words that would go on to reframe a global conversation about racism.

It was the night before a London Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020, which Bourne had felt compelled to join after being deeply affected by events taking place in the USA at the time.

“I saw the murder of George Floyd and I was just overwhelmed by every emotion, and honestly felt a bit helpless,” she told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview. “So when I heard the protests were coming to London, I just knew I wanted to get involved and help in any way I could.”

Bourne had originally planned to go to the event holding a sign with a quote from Martin Luther King but after sitting up in bed scrolling through Instagram posts, she changed her mind and scrawled down a question that captured the feelings of millions of people around the world.

“I couldn’t understand why it was so controversial, like why what had happened wasn’t so clearly wrong.

“And so I went downstairs, painted over my sign and wrote, ‘Why is ending racism a debate?’”

Six words, two changed lives and one question asked across the world

The next day at the rally thousands of people held signs above their heads as they protested the injustices of racism. Many of them were captured on film by local photographer Misan Harriman.

But it was the photo of Bourne with a bandana covering her face and a sign daubed with that simple six-word question that captured the imagination of a large section of society who were searching for answers about what was going on in the world at the time.

Within days, the image had been shared globally, including by celebrities such as Lewis Hamilton, Bella Hadid, David Beckham and Martin Luther Junior III, the son of the civil rights leader.

“When you break down the question, ‘Why is ending racism a debate?’ it’s very difficult to answer negatively, so it really makes people stop and think,” says Bourne when asked why she feels the sign resonated so much with the community.

“But it shouldn’t even be a question. It’s hard for me to see the words and see the power of it, because for me it was just a little sign I made, but from what other people have told me I think that’s why it had such a big impact.”

That sign, that question, changed the lives of both Bourne and photographer Harriman, with the latter going on to shoot a cover for British Vogue after being called “the voice that was missing in the magazine” by editor Edward Enninful. More recently, in 2021, he took over the role of chair of Britain’s biggest art institution, the Southbank Centre.

And for Bourne, who is one of Britain’s most exciting young hockey players, starring for England at last year’s Women’s World Cup and harbouring hopes of going to the Olympics next year in Paris, it has changed the way she approaches both life and sport as she continues to use her platform to work for equality and to end racial discrimination.

Darcy Bourne: “I promised myself I would do the most I could to have a positive impact”

It didn’t take long for the photo of Bourne to begin to have an impact. She had been out training and when she returned, the messages on her phone had just “blown up”.

“In that moment, I realised that the photo gave me an opportunity,” she said. “It gave me the voice and the platform to speak up on something so important, and from that, I kind of promised myself that I would do the most I could to have a positive impact.”

Still a teenager and unsure where this new vocation in life would take her, Bourne threw herself into interviews and public appearances where she has been able to share her message.

She’s also had the opportunity to see first-hand the impact her words have had on people who would otherwise never have questioned their own prejudices.

“This lady from Minnesota messaged me and she said, ‘your sign really caught my eye and it made me realise that I’ve been racist and I’m going to try to be better for those around me and my colleagues, so thank you for the impact it had on me.’ And that was more important than the messages from the celebrities because it really put into perspective how powerful it could be.”

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Allies at Duke University come calling as Darcy Bourne takes message to field of play

Not only did Bourne’s newfound platform have an impact on her life outside of sport, but it also captured the attention of the sporting community, including Pam Bustin, the former Olympian who is now Head Coach of field hockey at Duke University.

“When I saw Darcy really taking an active stance over in England, I wanted her to know that she had allies here [in the USA] and that we were all behind what it was she was protesting about, and she shouldn’t do it alone.”

The conversation led to Bourne being invited to study and play hockey at the University during what she calls “one of the best years of my life”.

It also led to her finding a new way to better the lives of minority athletes.

“At the end of my first term this girl Courtney reached out to me who was the captain of the UNC field hockey team at the time. She said, ‘I think we could do something really brilliant if we put our minds together and bring our platforms together.'”

So the two united to create Beyond Our Game, “a platform aimed at empowering student athletes of colour through community work and business connections”. It's an initiative that continues to this day.

Now back in England, Bourne’s more recent ventures include working with the Spencer Lynx Academy, a charity that provides children from South London with free hockey coaching and equipment for two years.

“Just working with them is amazing,” says Bourne. “All the coaches are so enthusiastic and the kids just love it. And seeing people from backgrounds in communities that aren’t usually represented in hockey is just a really inspiring thing to be a part of…

“Although we can work top down, working bottom up can really positively impact the future generations of our sport.”

Darcy Bourne: 'Hockey isn’t very diverse but I’m putting in the work to try and change that positively'

Paris 2024 is just 16 months away and Bourne is itching to represent Great Britain at the Games.

“It would mean the world for me to play at the Paris Olympics,” says the now 21-year-old who has already experienced the spectacle and pressure cooker of the Women’s Hockey World Cup in 2022. “The Olympics have always been my dream… they still are but I’m just that little bit closer!”

But when she does look back on her legacy in years to come, it won’t just be from the viewpoint of her sporting triumphs but from the impact she had on the world through her campaigns for social justice.

“I would love to be a really successful hockey player,” she says. “But I think almost more importantly, I would love to be someone who helps the future generation in sport. Hockey isn’t really a very diverse sport but I’m really putting in the work to try and change that positively.”

The work has already begun as Bourne continues to play her part in actively increasing diversity in sport and ending racism.

And while it’s something she could never have imagined when she wrote out that six-word sign in June 2020, the repercussions of the question she posed will continue to be felt for many years to come.

In the words of her photographer Harriman: “That image, when me and Darcy are long gone, is going to continue being an activist in itself.”