Today, you’ve most likely entered Instagram with a feed full of black squares.
The posts are part of a social media campaign to support the Black Lives Matter movement and protest the death of George Floyd, who was killed on May 25th by Minneapolis police. Many of the posts are accompanied with the caption #BlackOutTuesday, among others.
Why you shouldn’t include the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter in your #BlackOutTuesdayPost
The Black Lives Matter hashtag is being used on Instagram and Twitter to share footage from protests, links to organizations where people can donate money, and information and resources for people to either educate themselves or access help. It’s harder to get this out to people en masse if the feed is broken up with black squares.
Blackout Tuesday on social media started after some key figures in the music industry pledged a day of silence to protest police brutality and the murder of George Floyd. Organizers for The Show Must Be Paused project called for a day where people “disconnect from work and reconnect with our community” through “an urgent step of action to provoke accountability and change.” By posting a black square, you’re pledging to show your support and then not post anything else on Instagram all day to consider how you can support Black Lives Matter in other ways.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA8EFyNFdC3/
If you are a black content creator, and you would like to keep pushing content relevant to #BlackLivesMatter, you should keep doing so, don’t keep quiet. Here are some quick instructions.
