The Conversation (0)
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Joanna Taylor
Jun 02, 2020
Scott Olson / Getty Images
People are posting black squares on Instagram to express solitary with the Black Lives Matter movement, but there's a problem.
Because so many users are tagging their black squares with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, educational posts and donation links are being buried.
Teen activist Kendira Woods raised the issue on Twitter, saying: "we know that it's 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. We know t… https://t.co/dwH49sf2l2— Kenidra4Humanity (@Kenidra4Humanity) 1591084365
People are posting the squares to take part in the Blackout Tuesday movement, which began in the music industry. Artists pledged not to release new music or post to social media for a day to commemorate George Floyd. TV stations and radio channels also got involved by holding on air silences.
Others then hopped on the trend by posting the black squares to Instagram and committing to not post again for the rest of the day. This appears to be an unintended offshoot from the original Blackout Tuesday campaign which was aimed at making space for an "honest, reflective and productive conversation" about the collective action needed to "support the Black community".
#TheShowMustBePaused https://t.co/JHTUG34Ibj— theshowmustbepaused (@theshowmustbepaused) 1590986770
People are posting black screens for black out Tuesday & using the black lives matter hashtag instead of the origin… https://t.co/9HT1A9Y8LK— Ivie Ani (@Ivie Ani) 1591084246
The issue with tagging these black squares with #BlackLivesMatter has also been pointed out by Lil Nas X.
this is not helping us. bro who the hell thought of this?? ppl need to see what’s going on https://t.co/fN492qsxaa— MONTERO 🦋 (@MONTERO 🦋) 1591082882
The rapper also pointed to several more effective methods of activism.
not tryna be announcing but what if we posted donation and petitions links on instagram all at the same time instead of pitch black images.— MONTERO 🦋 (@MONTERO 🦋) 1591084080
The Instagram trend has been called out for being performative.
this instagram blackout is dangerous. please don’t fall for this false activism. black voices are already being qui… https://t.co/VKUan7CRZL— actually a bug type (@actually a bug type) 1591082086
Do not participate in black out Tuesday if you’re going to post literally NOTHING but a black screen Waste of time… https://t.co/WTw05IRN8j— ⚔️ Dark Wizzy ⚔️ (@⚔️ Dark Wizzy ⚔️) 1591107516
Blackout Tuesday is empty signaling. It’s just a checkpoint to pass thru so companies can feel like something has b… https://t.co/rq79A5AMa2— brandon / jinx / big jinx (@brandon / jinx / big jinx) 1591100450
Blacking out the profile pics are probably fine, but it’s more about taking a step back from posting about business… https://t.co/emXcyuS9Ur— zeno 👾 (@zeno 👾) 1591083416
posting your blackout photo on instagram means NOTHING if you’re not also signing petitions/ donating where you can.— dominique🆗 (@dominique🆗) 1591093791
The intended purpose of Blackout Tuesday is having productive conversations about what we can all do to lift up black voices and support the Black Lives Matter movement in a meaningful way.
Flooding Instagram with empty images and sentiments only detracts from that conversation.
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