(WWLP) – Blackout Tuesday originated from the “Show Must Be Paused” movement that was started by two black women in music to disrupt the work week and educate people on ways they can help put an end to long-standing racism and inequality.
The movement has flooded social media platforms with photos of black squares. The purpose of the movement is to stop, take a step back, listen, and educate yourselves and others on ways you can help the black community. People are encouraged to share resources, news, stories, art, research and more from black voices to better understand.
The industry blackout initiative, #TheShowMustBePaused, was created by Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang who work in music marketing.
Here are some ways to help:
- Support black-owned businesses
- Black therapists offering 1-2 free virtual sessions for Black people who were a part of protests in Chicago
- Share the National Lawyers Guild hotline number (212-679-6018) on social media and make sure people know they can get legal help if they’re attending protests
- Demand policy change by sharing numbers to your local representatives where fellow digital activists can call and ask for things like a halt to police funding or redirection of tax dollars
Organizations and funds to donate to
- Black Visions Collective, a social justice organization that centers healing and transformative justice principles
- Unicorn Riot – an independent media nonprofit that shares stories of people whose voices have been silenced
- National Bail Fund Network -you can find any bail fund in communities across America that you can donate to
- Meriyah Smith, a person from Atlanta Georgia, created a GoFundMe to raise money to help the Black-owned business that have been destroyed during protests