Social Media Goes Dark To Support Black Lives Matter Movement
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — You probably noticed your Instagram and Twitter feeds were full of black squares Tuesday.
The social media world went dark in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Celebrities and everyday people joined voices around the world, outraged by the killings of black people in the U.S.
Local activist and dietician, Jessica Wilson from Oak Park, joined forces with mental health therapist Alishia McCullough from North Carolina.
"Amplify voices of color and silence or mute those who have been taking up the space historically and talking about the history of black and brown folks," Wilson said.
Together, they are encouraging their followers to take part in the #AmplifyMelanatedVoices Challenge. For one week, users on social media are being encouraged to share content from people of color, muting white content creators, or the "white noise."
"Muting that white noise is more along the lines of going through and actually muting the voices that usually hold what some people might say is the mic," McCullough said.
Black Out Tuesday was originally organized by the music community calling out racial injustice, with a slew of music labels going dark and some artists canceling media appearances and suspending any presence of Youtube and music streams for the day.
Spotify blacked out the artwork for several of its popular playlists, and the opening pages of Apple Music and iTunes focused on supporting Black Lives Matter. SiriusXM silenced its music channels for three minutes in tribute to "all of the countless victims of racism."
McCullough says it's not just about muting yourself, but rather giving voice to the cause.
"That could look like sharing a post, that could look like donating to a cause, that could look like reaching out and just saying how can I support you in this time?" McCullough said. "And saying ok, I want to amplify the voices of those who often don't get seen, or don't get heard."