Looking Back on #BlackoutTuesday

Mattea Pulido
Jun 3, 2020
4 min read

Yesterday, June 2, 2020, millions of people participated in showing their support for Black Lives Matter by posting a single black square to their respective Instagram accounts. Now, there is a lot to be said for this; good and bad. The overwhelming amount of participation in this trend shows that people are in fact paying some degree of attention to the current state of social affairs in the country. By flooding the social media platform with this single idea, people are being forced to think about their impact on the movement and what they can do to invoke change in what is currently an oppressive, authoritarian governmental system. Systemic oppression has plagued this country from the moment it was established, and the rage and frustration resulting from this fact seems to have reached a boiling point, and people will no longer stand for it.

That being said, what action will be taken from here on out?

Blackout Tuesday was originally proposed by Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas, two Black female executives in the music industry, as #TheShowMustBePaused. The initial intention was to hold the music industry accountable for recognizing the successes they have achieved as a result of efforts of Black people. The hope was to expand the scope of current protests and force influential names in the industry to consider their impact on perpetuating the oppression of Black American artists.

Now, it is simply impossible to deny the influence of Blackness on music, almost as a whole. In a 2019 New York Times Magazine article, Wesley Morris writes,

“Americans have made a political investment in a myth of racial separateness, the idea that art forms can be either “white” or “black” in character when aspects of many are at least both. The purity that separation struggles to maintain? This country’s music is an advertisement for 400 years of the opposite: centuries of “amalgamation” and “miscegenation” as they long ago called it, of all manner of interracial collaboration conducted with dismaying ranges of consent.”

Just as we have done in general society, the music industry has made attempts to keep the “Black sound” separate from mainstream White music; when, in reality, most modern artists have adapted sounds that were birthed from slavery to suit their endeavors at producing mainstream hits. Morris goes on to equate this process to that of the gentrification of music. Some of the most successful names in the industry have taken aspects of genres directly descendent from Blackness and slavery, modified them to suit their culture, and reaped the overwhelming rewards. Blackout Tuesday/The Show Must Be Paused were intended to address this facet of injustice and disproportionate recognition of success of those people of color.

Unfortunately, this message may have largely been lost as a result of inadequate communication of misplaced intention and bandwagoners feeling as though they need to participate in this trend in order to satisfy a guilty conscience. As I mentioned previously, inevitably, there are some successes that will likely be identified from the emergence of this trend: people who normally would ignore political postings on social media, or who choose to stay silent, even when they feel passionately about politics are likely speaking up. Additionally, for every non-helpful posting of an arbitrary black square, there is another post with informational links to resources, podcasts, places to donate, etc.

Ultimately, it will be a matter of maintaining this fire and participation and drive to see real change enacted in this country. It is essential that all of us acknowledge the part we play in perpetuating an oppressive culture, no matter how uncomfortable that may be.

The original intention behind Blackout Tuesday was to address Black influence on the music industry and demand reconciliation for the injustices Black artists have likely endured. If you are someone who enjoys music, and you likely are if you are following this blog, recognize the influence that African culture, slavery, the search for freedom, and soul have had on the music that you listen to, because I guarantee you it is there.

Additionally, show support for the Black community in music! While we generally seem to associate Black artists with R&B, Rap, and Hip Hop, there are Black artists creating music in every genre. If you’re interested in checking them out, I have some suggestions below.

Most importantly, if you posted a black square on your Instagram account yesterday, don’t let that be the end of your activism. It is important to show solidarity with those who are directly impacted by police brutality and systemic oppression, but there are more ways to help than simply posting on social media. You can start by watching this video, whose content supports Black artists while also generating funding for Black Lives Matter and other similar organizations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgLa25fDHM

Be active and consistent in the fight because, unfortunately, we still have a long way to go.

I’ll leave you with a quotation by John Platt, chairman and CEO of Sony/ATV, and the only Black leader of a major global music company:

“Timely action must follow the industry's lyrics. Otherwise, words are ultimately empty."

Artist Recommendations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYnC7FCsNO8

Alternative/Indie:

Toro y Moi

NNAMDÏ

Michael Kiwanuka

Santigold

Soul: