Page 19 - Paths to Change

one that not only included other industries but also other races. New rules for allies started going around Twitter, unconnected to #TheShowMustBePaused. Celebrities, corporations, and more began to go dark on social media Monday night, with some explaining their reasoning and others just posting a blank black square, like they’re promoting Fyre Festival. Few got it right. Sony Music, Columbia Records, and Boohoo merely posted that they’re using the day to reflect or take a stand. Kylie Jenner, Drake, Tracee Ellis Ross, Tom Holland, King Princess, and Charli XCX, among many, many others, all posted vague black squares. Rihanna shut down all of her and her businesses’ social-media accounts, also dropping a cheeky black square on the feed before peacing out to whatever oasis she’s quarantining in. And, of course, as more and more celebrities and influencers caught on, so did their followers, now equipped with even less information — just a black square to screenshot and repost. With nothing to go off of, black posts began to flood the Black Lives Matter hashtag on Instagram, pushing down any helpful information and suppressing images of protests. Who has criticized #BlackOutTuesday? Several musicians started to grow wary of #BlackOutTuesday into Tuesday morning. “This is the 4th completely different flyer I’ve seen for it,” singer Kehlani tweeted late Monday night. “This is the only one without the saying go completely silent for a day in solidarity. The messages are mixed across the board and I really hope it doesn’t have a negative effect.” Lil Nas X saw a screenshot of all the black posts under the Black Lives Matter hashtag and tweeted “this is not helping us. bro who the hell thought of this?? ppl need to see what’s going on.” The band Unknown Mortal Orchestra suggested donating all funds instead of going dark. Jack Antonoff, no comment on his close collaborator Lana Del Rey, applied pressure to the music industry and shouted out #TheShowMustBePaused organizers. “What i’m also interested in is more immediate and clear aid from the $$$$$$ at the top to groups who need it now,” he tweeted. “Would mean a lot to see large donations from our big corporations in music.” Meanwhile, more and more activists attempted to remove and divert all the black posts away from #BlackLivesMatter and over to #BlackOutTuesday. What are businesses actually doing for #BlackOutTuesday? Oh, you mean besides “reflecting?” Several companies have gone further than the black post to actually redirect attention right now. Complex is exclusively publishing Black Lives Matter content, Spotify added an eight-minute, 36-second moment of silence to all playlists in honor of George Floyd, Interscope The Black Inquiry Project 18