2,000 People Have Signed A Petition Asking Apple To Add More Racial Diversity To Emoji Icons

ScreenshotEmoji icons.Change starts with the home keys. At least, that's what the supporters of a new Do Something petition believe.

The petition, to diversify Apple's emoji selection, backs the idea that if the emoji keyboard is the go-to for texting and tweeting, it should better represent the people who are using it. (Emoji are those little cartoony icons that you can send in text messages.) According to the petition: ...of the more than 800 Emojis, the only two resembling people of color are a guy who looks vaguely Asian and another in a turban. There’s a white boy, girl, man, woman, elderly man, elderly woman, blonde boy, blonde girl and, we’re pretty sure, Princess Peach. But when it comes to faces outside of yellow smileys, there’s a staggering lack of minority representation. In June 2012, the program even introduced same-sex couples into the emoji mix, leaving many believing the addition of people of color would not be very far behind. But even with the Apple's upcoming iPhone software update, there's yet to be a more diversified selection of icons. As of right now, there are about 2,000 signatures defending the cause out of the 10,000 they are hoping to collect. Though some people have rolled their eyes, one of the comments from a recent supporter sums it up pretty well:
I am a female of color so I know, first hand, what it's like living in America as a predominantly African-American. From magazines to television I continuously see a very minuet amount of colored men and women and although colored emojis may seem like a small deal, it would certainly make me feel like people of color are being accepted and acknowledged in society as normal, beautiful people.