But Petitt, who previously worked as an organizer with Black Lives Matter, D.C., and Movement for Black Lives, D.C., noted that the Instagram hashtag also lacked analysis and nuance. “It’s an easy trend to jump onto, it’s easy to understand, it doesn’t take a lot of effort or energy, and, visually, it’s quite powerful if you’re just scrolling and all these people have black screens,” said Katie Petitt, a black activist who founded the nonprofit Current Movements. And as many black people explained, showing up, seeking out discourse about racial injustices and listening to and elevating black voices were much more important to many activists than inaction and reflection. The second problem was that, on a more theoretical level, silence is not really the preferred mode of allyship for something like police brutality. This well-meaning display of solidarity was drowning out crucial information for organizers and protesters. The first was that many people posting their black tiles as a sign of solidarity were using the hashtags #BlackLivesMatter and #BLM. While major record labels like Universal Music Group, Atlantic Records, Capitol Music Group, Warner Records, Columbia Records, Def Jam, Elektra Music Group, Sony Music and Virgin EMI, pledged to halt all business on June 2, it's not entirely clear what actions they and other music companies have planned in the long term to protect and empower Black communities.Two problems quickly arose. "To that end," they continued, "it is the obligation of these entities to protect and empower the Black communities that have made them disproportionately wealthy in ways that are measurable and transparent." The organizers of the June 2 protest, Black female recording industry executives Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas, wrote in a joint statement, "Our mission is to hold the industry at large, including major corporations + their partners who benefit from the efforts, struggles and successes of Black people accountable." Joe Raedle/GettyīlackOut Tuesday in July 2020 has the exact same name as a June 2 protest event spearheaded by the music industry that eventually influenced social media users. Supporters of Blackout Day have committed to only spending money at black-owned businesses to showcase the economic power of the Black community. ![]() They have owned the business for the last 22 years. James Robinson and his wife Perlina Robinson pose for a portrait in The Formalwear store on Blackout Day 2020 on Jin Miami Gardens, Florida. Towards that end, the BlackOut Coalition's website lists a directory of Black-owned businesses that Black business owners can join. ![]() ![]() "The only way we're going to get change is when they fear hurting us like we fear hurting them." "That right there is what caused the civil-rights legislation to come," Martyr said in a May YouTube video about the idea. "Black people alone account for an estimated 1.2 trillion dollars or more of spending in the economy annually," a figure backed up by Nielsen, the American data firm.Ĭalvin Martyr, the Texas-based businessman who founded the coalition, compares BlackOut Tuesday to the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott in which Black Alabamans refused to ride public busses until the state changes its laws forcing Black riders sit in the back of the public busses. "We need economic solidarity in America amongst all black people unequivocally," the post stated. In a May 27 Instagram post, The BlackOut Coalition wrote that BlackOut Tuesday seeks to stop anti-Black violence-especially the murder of Black community leaders, a repeal of racist legislation, fairer access to institutional funding and non-interference with the strengthening Black-owned businesses and communities. "'We buy black' spiked +3,750% and 'Is today Blackout Tuesday?' surged +2,650%, over the past day," Google Trends wrote Tuesday on its Twitter account. The movement seems to have at least made an initial impact online as Google Trends, a Google website that analyzes top search queries in Google Search, says searches for "Black-owned business near me" have dramatically increased. The event's organizing group, The BlackOut Coalition, said the event is meant to exercise the Black community's economic power to help combat anti-Black racism. July 7 is BlackOut Tuesday, a national boycott against all businesses except those which are Black-owned.
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