JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. ā A Black woman has become the face of Missouri's tourism campaign, nearly four years after the NAACP warned travelers that their civil rights may not be respected if they visit the state.
The Missouri Division of Tourism kicked off the campaign Monday, describing the woman the agency dubbed Mo as āa character and tour guide of sorts," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. She is featured in a promotional video hiking, watching a baseball game and riding a roller coaster. Pictures also show her posing as a Foodie Mo, Barbecue Mo, Lake Mo, History Mo and more.
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āMo embodies Missouri and everything we have to offer visitors in our state,ā Stephen Foutes, director of the Division of Tourism, said in the release.
But Missouri NAACP President Nimrod Chapel said the groupās travel advisory will remain in effect until Missouri makes āmeaningful progress in the systemic abuses affecting people of color.ā The state group warned travelers to be careful while in the state in June 2017 because of what it described as a danger that civil rights wonāt be respected. The national NAACP took up the warning a couple of months later.
āI donāt quite understand where theyāre going with the campaign, and why put a Black face on it,ā Chapel said.
āMissouri is a place that has been marked by violence and Jim Crow,ā Chapel said. āItās good that theyāre trying to think inclusively for people they should invite to the state,ā but it's also unfortunate when the government āhasnāt done anything to address those risks in a meaningful way.ā
Ashley Santana, a St. Louis-based actress, model and soprano, plays Mo. She declined to comment through the agency that represents her.
In a statement emailed to the Post-Dispatch, Foutes did not directly answer whether the casting decision was related to the NAACP advisory.
He said Visit Missouri, the tourism website that features Mo, āauditioned over 200 actors and actresses with strong ties to Missouri. As Mo came to life, we wanted to reflect the down-to-earth, easygoing and inviting personality of Missouri. ā¦ Weāre proud to feature an African American and Missouri native in this campaign to welcome future visitors to Missouri.ā
Brian Hall, chief marketing officer for Explore St. Louis, said efforts to position St. Louis and Missouri as warm and welcoming have become especially important since Michael Brownās death in 2014 focused the nationās attention on the regionās unresolved racial justice issues.
Though systemic change is still needed, Hall said, the casting of Santana āsends an important signal ... that our state is proud to feature an African American woman as a representative, an ambassadress, for our state.ā