Celebrities Embrace ‘Black Out Tuesday’ To Support #BlackLivesMatter

On June 2, many decided to participate in the social movement “Black Out Tuesday” as a way to honor, protest and hopefully bring about social and political change in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

This day was originally started by music industry executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang as they encouraged others to pause normal business operations on June 2  “in observance of the long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard.”

As the movement grew on social media, many businesses and individuals decided to participate in Black Out Tuesday by posting a black screen image and pausing other postings on social media. However, as this happened many became concerned that while the message of the movement is positive, it was suppressing voices of movements that need to be heard in this time. 

The main criticism stemmed from the fact that many were using the hashtag, “#BlackLivesMatter” in their posts and burying important information and updates that is usually found under that hashtag. 

Kenidra Woods a mental health advocate and Black Lives Matter activist, posted on Twitter, “It has come to my attention that many allies are using #BlackLivesMatter hashtag w black image on insta. We  know that’s it no intent to harm but to be frank, this essentially does harm the message. We use hashtag to keep ppl updated. PLS stop using the hashtag for black images!!” She attached a screen recording of the posts found under #BlackLivesMatter showing how it is just filled up with blank black images. 

Rapper Lil Nas X tweeted, “i just really think this is the time to push as hard as ever. i don’t think the movement has ever been this powerful. we don’t need to slow it down by posting nothing. we need to spread info and be as loud as ever.”

Many have taken Black Out Tuesday as a call to action in which instead of stopping all social media use, they have paused personal posts or things unrelated to the Black Lives Matter movement.

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