June 2, 2020, protest against racism and police brutality
"Black squares" redirects here. For other uses, see
Black Square
.
A solid black square, used by many to represent Blackout Tuesday
Blackout Tuesday
was a collective action to protest
racism
and
police brutality
.
[1]
[2]
The action, originally organized within the
music industry
in response to the
murder of George Floyd
, the
murder of Ahmaud Arbery
, and the
killing of Breonna Taylor
,
[3]
took place on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Businesses taking part were encouraged to abstain from releasing music and other business operations.
[4]
Some outlets produced blacked out, silent, or minimal programming for
8 minutes and 46 seconds
, the originally reported length of time that police officer
Derek Chauvin
compressed Floyd's neck.
Background
[
edit
]
Blackout Tuesday stemmed off of the original initiative
[3]
created by music executives Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas, Senior Director of Marketing at
Atlantic Records
.
[5]
[6]
Agyemang and Thomas have since noted that "These injustices we are facing in America are not limited to just our community. This is a global initiative and our efforts will include members worldwide".
[7]
Businesses participated in different ways.
Black Americans
were asked to not buy or sell on this day to show economic strength and unity.
Spotify
announced it would be adding an 8-minute and 46-second moment of silence to certain podcasts and playlists for the day.
[1]
In remembrance of George Floyd, media conglomerate
Paramount Global
similarly took all of its cable channels, which include
MTV
,
Nickelodeon
, and
Comedy Central
, off the air for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.
[8]
Apple Music
stripped down and took over the "Browse", "For You", and "Radio" tabs and replaced them with a single radio streaming station in celebration of Black music.
[9]
On
Facebook
and
Instagram
, users participated by posting a single photo of a black square alongside the
hashtag
#blackouttuesday.
[10]
Actions promoted
[
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]
Organizations supporting Blackout Tuesday suggested that the day could be an opportunity for reflection on racism and the effects of racism on society.
[11]
Others suggested it could be an opportunity to take time from work to focus on helping others.
[5]
According to the original statement released by Aygyemang and Thomas, "This is not just a 24-hour initiative. We are and will be in this fight for the long haul. A plan of action will be announced".
[3]
This is only phase one of a multi-phase movement.
[7]
It was also proposed that this day be used as “a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with our community” via “an urgent step of action to provoke accountability and change.”
[12]
"Blackout Tuesday" was originally conceived as a music-industry protest, according to
Rolling Stone
, and Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang of Atlantic Records meant it to be a call for the industry to "not conduct business as usual." In a statement, Thomas wrote, "Your black executives, artists, managers, staff, colleagues are drained, traumatized, hurt, scared, and angry," adding, "I don't want to sit on your Zoom calls talking about the black artists who are making you so much money, if you fail to address what's happening to black people right now." In a separate statement, the pair wrote that "the show can't just go on, as our people are being hunted and killed."
[13]
Concerns and criticisms
[
edit
]
Some users posted the black square image using the hashtag #blackouttuesday, #blacklivesmatter or #BLM (an abbreviation of the latter), which in turn led users who were searching for or tracking those hashtags to find nothing but solid black images. Some activists were concerned because the
Black Lives Matter
related hashtags were being used by activists and others to share information during the ongoing protests, and posting a black square with the incorrect hashtag risked drowning out critical information and updates.
[14]
[15]
Other users pointed to those participating in the Blackout Tuesday event, but not involving themselves in other forms of activism, such as protesting or donating, as being
performative in their activism
.
[16]
There was also a hoax spreading around claiming that the event was started by
4chan
trolls
, but research has shown that to be false.
[17]
[
failed verification
]
Blackout Tuesday was criticized as a form of
virtue signalling
for the initiative's "lack of clarity and direction".
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Statt, Nick (June 1, 2020).
"Spotify to add 8:46-minute moment of silence to playlists and podcasts in honor of George Floyd"
.
The Verge
.
- ^
"MTV Goes Dark, Record Labels Hit Pause as U.S. Protests Rage"
.
The New York Times
. Reuters. June 1, 2020.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
June 2,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
"#TheShowMustBePaused"
. Archived from
the original
on June 3, 2020.
- ^
Gonzalez, Sandra (June 1, 2020).
"Music industry leaders vow to pause business for a day in observation of Blackout Tuesday"
.
CNN
.
- ^
a
b
Hissong, Samantha; Millman, Ethan (June 1, 2020).
"The Music Business Is Holding a 'Blackout.' But No One Seems to Know What That Means"
.
Rolling Stone
.
- ^
Savage, Mark (June 2, 2020).
"TV, radio and music stars mark 'Blackout Tuesday'
"
.
BBC News
. Retrieved
June 2,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Organizers Detail Black Out Tuesday Impact as Initiative Prepares for Next Phase"
.
www.msn.com
. Retrieved
June 4,
2020
.
- ^
Bursztynsky, Jessica; Whitten, Sarah (June 2, 2020).
"Instagram users flood the app with millions of Blackout Tuesday posts"
.
CNBC
. Retrieved
November 8,
2020
.
- ^
"Apple Music Joins Music Industry's Blackout Tuesday Awareness Campaign"
.
MacRumors
. Retrieved
June 2,
2020
.
- ^
"Why people are posting black squares to their Instagram"
.
The Independent
. June 2, 2020
. Retrieved
June 2,
2020
.
- ^
"Music Industry Says 'The Show Must Be Paused' Over George Floyd Death"
.
Billboard
. June 1, 2020
. Retrieved
June 2,
2020
.
- ^
"Music business set for 'Black Out Tuesday' to 'provoke accountability' in wake of George Floyd death"
.
Music Business Worldwide
. May 31, 2020
. Retrieved
September 3,
2020
.
- ^
Darby, Luke (June 2, 2020).
"What Is Blackout Tuesday, and Why Might It Be a Bad Idea?"
.
GQ
. Retrieved
September 3,
2020
.
- ^
Willingham, AJ (June 2, 2020).
"Why posting a black image with the 'Black Lives Matter' hashtag today is doing more harm than good"
.
CNN
. Retrieved
June 2,
2020
.
- ^
Vincent, James (June 2, 2020).
"Blackout Tuesday posts are drowning out vital information shared under the BLM hashtag"
.
The Verge
. Retrieved
June 2,
2020
.
- ^
Ledbetter, Carly (June 2, 2020).
"Emily Ratajkowski Slams People Doing The 'Bare Minimum' By Just Posting Black Squares"
.
HuffPost
. Retrieved
June 2,
2020
.
- ^
Halperin, Shirley (June 2, 2020).
"Sony Music Chief Rob Stringer Details Company-Wide Plans for Blackout Tuesday"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
June 5,
2020
.
- ^
Savage, Mark (June 2, 2020).
"TV, radio and music stars mark 'Blackout Tuesday'
"
.
BBC News
.
- ^
Bascaramurty, Dakshana (June 2, 2020).
"Outpouring of non-black support on Blackout Tuesday met with appreciation, skepticism"
.
The Globe and Mail
.
- ^
Hornery, Andrew (June 6, 2020).
"There's more to activism than Instagram black squares"
.
The Sydney Morning Herald
.
- ^
Ho, Shannon (June 13, 2020).
"A social media 'blackout' enthralled Instagram. But did it do anything?"
.
NBC News
.
- ^
Framke, Caroline (June 2, 2020).
"Why Posting Black Boxes for #BlackoutTuesday, or Hashtags Without Action, Is Useless (Column)"
.
External links
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]