Here’s why people are sharing black squares on social media today.
Your social media timeline may have changed. On Tuesday, instead of selfies and memes, you may notice people posting a black square with the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused.
The black photos are part of a movement called Blackout Tuesday, which was created by two female Black women executives, Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang.
“In response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other Black citizens at the hands of the police, #TheShowMustBePaused is an initiative created … in observance of the long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard,” a statement on the movement’s website explains. “We will not continue to conduct business as usual without regard for Black lives.”
It was deliberate to choose Tuesday, June 2nd as it “intentionally (disrupts) the work week. Monday suggests a long weekend and we can’t wait until Friday for change. 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.”
“This is not just a 24-hour initiative. We are and will be in this fight for the long haul. We are tired and can’t change things along.”
To participate, the founders suggest people who have been “impacted by recent events … take a break — there is a lot going on and sometimes we all just need a minute. Take that minute.”
They also suggest donating to relevant causes and researching anti-racism information.
Other platforms including Spotify are spreading the message. The music platform is adding to select playlists an 8-minute, 46 second track of silence, which is the amount of time a Minneapolis police officer placed his knee on George Floyd’s neck.
Supporters of Blackout Tuesday are encouraging participants to use #TheShowMustBePaused, as the founders originally specified, and #BlackoutTuesday and not #BlackLivesMatter hashtag. The goal is to allow people to access important information about the group and by using #BlackLivesMatter hashtag you could indirectly silence African American voices addressing the issues on the platforms.
On May 22, TMZ reported Washington stopped and helped a homeless man who was “in some peril with oncoming traffic.”
Video footage of the incident shows Denzel Washington comforting the man and waiting with the man during an encounter with police.
TMZ reported the man was “detained — not sure why but possibly to make sure he was okay — then released.”
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