PLS stop using the hashtag for black images!! /eG2fPaybNW- Kenidra4Humanity ~ BLACK LIVES MATTER ~ June 2, 2020īy midday Tuesday, the organizers behind #TheShowMustBePaused posted an update on Twitter urging people to not use the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag unless it was to share important information or resources. We know that’s it no intent to harm but to be frank, this essentially does harm the message. It has come to my attention that many allies are using #BlackLivesMatter hashtag w black image on insta. Here’s Black Lives Matter activist Kenidra Woods: Complaints about the issue started early Tuesday morning. That meant that other posts, including information about protests or fundraising efforts, were getting drowned out by the trend. So many of these plain black square posts included #BlackLivesMatter hashtags that when users searched #BlackLivesMatter on Instagram, some could only see row after row of black squares. Some also added or used the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag, which led to objections from organizers that Black Lives Matter content was being pushed aside by the plain black squares. However, while record labels issued image-based statements - often just white text on a black background - lots of Instagram and Twitter users simply uploaded plain black images and added the campaign’s hashtag. As of early Tuesday afternoon, #TheShowMustBePaused had appeared on more than half a million posts on Instagram. While the music industry’s response was not completely uniform, the industry’s initial support for the effort quickly spread to the mainstream. There’s also a link to a petition in support of justice for Breonna Taylor, a first responder who was shot and killed by police while sleeping in her own bed, as well as to the Movement for Black Lives website. There are links to donate to various bail funds, to the Official George Floyd Memorial Fund, and to the family of Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed by two white men while jogging. In addition to including a statement, the website clearly explains what companies and members of the music industry could do during their downtime on Tuesday. “It is a day to take a beat for an honest, reflective, and productive conversation about what actions we need to collectively take to support the Black community.” “Tuesday, June 2 is meant to intentionally disrupt the work week,” explains the website for #TheShowMustBePaused. Companies including Spotify, Apple, and TikTok announced they would suspend much of their regular work Tuesday amid the demonstrations. Still, the effort altogether seemed to have a significant impact, especially in the music industry. It’s not clear if the #TheShowMustBePaused hashtag or the Blackout Tuesday pledge started first, but the sentiment shared by those in the music industry was similar. Thomas, a senior marketing director at Atlantic Records, and Agyemang, a senior artist campaign manager at the Apple-owned music platform Platoon, launched #TheShowMustBePaused as several labels committed to participating in Blackout Tuesday on Instagram. The phenomenon of people posting black squares follows an effort called #TheShowMustBePaused, launched last week by two black women music industry executives, Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang. This was certainly not the purpose of Blackout Tuesday. Many offered little to no context or information about the movement or demonstrations.Īctivists are now criticizing Blackout Tuesday posts that use the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag for being not just unhelpful but also counterproductive for those looking for critical information and resources related to anti-police brutality demonstrations. That meant the new Blackout Tuesday posts showed up as rows and rows of black squares on the Instagram page for #BlackLivesMatter. But almost immediately after the campaign started, countless Instagram users uploaded solid black squares in solidarity and added a #BlackLivesMatter hashtag. The “Blackout Tuesday” campaign began as a push for a day of reflection from music artists and labels in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in Minneapolis last Monday.
An effort to raise awareness about police brutality and systemic racism, which started in the music industry before being co-opted by countless Instagram users, appears to be backfiring somewhat.
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