Blackout Tuesday, June 2, was created by two women, Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many other black lives. The initiative was to disrupt the work week because “Monday suggests a long weekend, and we can’t wait until Friday for change.” The original intention was to disrupt business as usual and was aimed at the music industry, but along the way, the message got changed and across social media, people took it their own way. On the morning of June 2, Instagram was a flood of black boxes - some with no context, some using the blacklivesmatter hashtag and some with informative text. Later on, more instructions came, as the blacked out photos were clogging up the BLM hashtag and filtering out useful information. As the day went on, more and more people started to get it. I have to say, it was nice to see my entire timeline stand in solidarity for once.
It must be noted, that a few people got it more than right. The first, being Rihanna. This should not come as a surprise from the woman who said to tell all your friends to #PULLUP. She put a halt to all three of her businesses, letting it be known “we ain’t selling shit! And we ain’t buying shit either!” The websites for Fenty Beauty, Fenty and Savage x Fenty all took users to a landing page with a message against racial inequality and were unavailable for business. THAT’S how you put your money where your mouth is, Rih!
Another brand who blew me away with their message was Ben and Jerry’s. I don’t even buy ice cream, but after the statement they gave, they gained a new supporter in me. Addressing the racial inequality of this country dating back to 1619 at Jamestown: They called out Trump, Congress and the Department of Justice all while offering their support to George Floyd, his family and all the other victims whose names we don’t even know. You can read the full text here: https://www.benjerry.com/about-us/media-center/dismantle-white-supremacy
Nickelodeon went off the air for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, to show viewers just how long of a time that actually is. They received backlash from parents online who said this was inappropriate programming, but Nickelodeon stood strong in their position!
Apple Music dedicated their Browse, For You and Radio sections to amplifying black voices. For the entire day, the only thing that streamed was a playlist from black artists - many songs dedicated to theme of current events. The playlist included songs like “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye and “F**k tha Police” by N.W.A.
I’m so proud to see big brands standing up for what’s right, and not backing down to any opposition they faced. I just want companies to know that using your voice doesn’t hurt your bottom line! If anything, it helps.
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