A black ribbon is a symbol of remembrance or mourning. It is often worn or put on a public display to express consolation.
Sign of mourning
Similar to a black armband, the black ribbon is a public display of grief. Individuals or organizations display the ribbon in commemoration of victims after specific incidents.
Some examples include:
Black ribbons were worn and placed on doors after the May 1992 Westray Mine Disaster in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada.[1]
The ribbon was worn in the United Kingdom after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.[2]
To show sympathy for victims of the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Turkish Wikipedia and Apple's website homepage in Turkey changed to show a glowing black ribbon atop a dark background.[14]
Other meanings
Melanoma awareness. Sometimes shown as black with white polka dots.
By the Anarchist Black Ribbon Campaign, a free speech campaign started in 1996 inspired by the Blue Ribbon Online Free Speech Campaign.[15]
During the 6th International Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) the black ribbon was worn worldwide to show support and promote awareness of the Palestinian struggle.
In India, 2011 to show support to Anna Hazare who was fasting to fight against corruption by government.
Worn by people who have suffered from any intentions of self harming on November 30 of every year.
In New Zealand, a black ribbon with a koru symbol supports an end to domestic violence.[16] In Australia, a black ribbon raises awareness against domestic abuse of men and fathers.
In fiction
In the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett, the black ribbon is instead worn by vampires to prove, in the vein of the real-world blue ribbon badge, that they have sworn never to drink blood again.
Variations
TortureProtest.org black ribbon campaign
Melanoma Awareness Ribbon Alternative with White Polka Dots
^Hoegg Ryan, Judith (1992). Coal In Our Blood: 200 Years of Coal Mining in Nova Scotia's Pictou County. Halifax: Formac. p. 142. ISBN 9780887802157.
^Biddle, Lucy; Walter, Tony (1998). "The Emotional English and Their Queen of Hearts". Folklore. 109: 96–99. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1998.9715965. ISSN 0015-587X. JSTOR 1260575.
^LaMar, Sondra (April 18, 2007). "Sigma Nu Distributes Black Ribbons on UA Fort Smith Campus Archived 2010-12-04 at the Wayback Machine". University of Arkansas – Fort Smith. Retrieved March 18, 2008.