On this auspicious day when the world doesn’t seem to be spinning quite the right way any more, many people around the world, even here in Kenya, are taking to social media to make their feelings known. According to the tags, the BlackoutTuesday hashtag is being used on social media platforms to show solidarity to the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Rules of BlackoutTuesday
You must have seen a few people on social media, especially Instagram, posting a ‘black blank image’. Well, that’s just part of what this entire hashtag is about. It’s important to note that this comes in light of police brutality incidences in the United States. Most notably, what happened to George Floyd, who was murdered on camera while being arrested by a police officer.
The rules of the hashtag state that:
- You must not post anything else on social media today except for the blank black screen.
- You should suspend all music streams and Youtube Streams for the day.
- Cancel/close/suspend all dance studios, classes and meetings for the day.
- Identify ways to help the community you live in
- Take the time off social media to familiarize yourself with contemporary race relations. Moreover the history of black social political and economic plight.
The blackout may have been intended for the US but it seems like everyone around the world is participating in it. Social media favourites from Xtian Dela and Yummy Mummy to Tom Holland and Liza Koshy are all participating in this movement.
Should you want to participate, just post the image on social media and follow the rest of the rules. However, just as diverse as social media is, not everyone is up for it. Most users state that it is drowning out important posts that need to be seen regarding the matter.
I, however, feel it is a choice to take a minute to reflect on what is happening. There has been a lot of information overload over the past few days. As the tag suggests, we should take time to understand what is happening before we get back to our keyboards.