The Aftermath of Black Out Tuesday

– On Tuesday 2nd June, social media feeds across the world were covered in images of black squares, often with just a few hashtags in the caption “#blacklivesmatter #blackouttuesday”.

This movement, known as ‘Black Out Tuesday’, was an attempt by organisations and individuals to show solidarity with the Black community during the Black Lives Matter movement. However, questions remain regarding the efficacy of the campaign, and future steps from here on out.

While Black Out Tuesday produced some responses from big names within the music industry, the movement later came under heavy scrutiny for alleged “tokenism” and censorship of the BLM hashtag from individuals across the entertainment scene. 

What came to be known as ‘Black Out Tuesday’ was originally created by Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyeman, two Black women with senior marketing positions at Atlantic Records and Platoon.

Thomas and Agyeman created the movement in response to the merciless murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement. The campaign, which they originally called #TheShowMustBePaused, was an attempt to draw attention to the contributions and importance of Black artists.

In a statement on the theshowmustbepaused.com, Thomas and Agyeman maintained that:

“The music industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. An industry that has profited predominantly from Black art… it is the obligation of [the music industry] to protect and empower the Black communities that have made them disproportionately wealthy in ways that are measurable and transparent.” 

In an attempt to disrupt the music industry, all involved were encouraged to take a break on June 2nd and use the 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.”

As exemplified, the terms of the movement were kept vague to allow for a broad scope of actions to be taken on the day.

On one hand, some organisations took relatively small steps by donating undisclosed amounts to specific social-justice charities. For example, Live Nation contributed to the Equal Justice Initiative. Others, including RCA and Interscope Geffen A&M pledged only unspecified donations to unspecified groups. 

On the other hand, companies such as Def Jam Records, Epic Records, and Sony made donations to justice charities and took full advantage of the day to hold town halls with their employees, allowing them to: 

“Discuss the impact of recent events and the importance of taking a stand for our communities and ways for individuals to make a difference both now and in the future,” as stated by CEO of Epic Records, Sylvia Rhone.

However, as the ‘Show Must Be Paused’ movement continued to gain traction through its adoption by artists and brands like Rihanna and Spotify, it soon spread beyond the barriers of the music industry. The broad language of Thomas and Agyeman’s original statement encouraged the movement to adapt to different kinds of activism. As a result, artists, actors, comedians, and others from a variety of industries began hopping onto the bandwagon. But as the movement grew, so did confusion about Black Out Tuesday and its terms. 

People began posting black squares with donation links to Black charities, others posted the squares and tagged them “#blacklivesmatter”, and some even posted with no context at all. 

Soon enough, the Black Lives Matter hashtag was clogged with black squares, which effectively censored all the resources that had been made accessible over the past week. Information on effective allyship, donation links for Black charities, lists of Black businesses and artists who needed support, and other important activist material had been replaced by black squares.

Eventually, Thomas and Agyeman, had to release a clarification statement asking others to stop posting black squares with the hashtag, #blacklivesmatter. 

“The purpose was never to mute ourselves. The purpose is to disrupt. The purpose is a pause from business as usual.”

Unfortunately, it was too late, the damage had been done and the movement was no longer under their control.

As Black Out Tuesday continued changing, others within the music industry began criticising it for its tokenistic and counterproductive nature. Artist, Lil Nas X, stated on his Twitter account:

“I know y’all mean well but… bro saying stop posting for a day is the worst idea ever…I just really think this is the time to push as hard as ever… We need to spread info and be as loud as ever.”

Others, like Marcus, creator of the popular Youtube channel Cosmonaut Variety Hour, highlighted the virtue signalling that the movement seemed to promote.

“ ‘I posted my black square time to be silent to show respect ’ You already were silent. Thanks for nothing I guess.”

R&B artist, Kehlani, emphasised this point, taking issue with what she saw as:

“A bunch of suits on Instagram saying Black Out Tuesday for the industry. With no content. No nod to the original organisers or the original flyer.”

Although big music industry players such as Republic Records, Sony Music, Def Jam Records, and Interscope have gotten involved to various degrees, as mentioned before, the long-lasting effect of the Black Out Tuesday movement is unknown.

For example, the companies that pledged contribution to Black charities are helping the Black Lives Matter movement in general. However, these donations do not seem to directly address the systemic issues that exist within their own organisations. Donating to a bail fund or a charity that aims to end mass incarceration does not address the lack of diversity in music management, it does not confront the POC issues within their organisation, and it does not acknowledge the pay gap inequality these same companies perpetuate. 

According to a workforce survey of almost 3,000 music industry employees in the UK, 15.6% of workers were Black, Asian, or minority ethnic. While this is slightly higher than the figure across the entirety of the UK (12.8%), two-thirds of music industry workers are based in London where the Black, Asian, or minority ethnic demographic makes up 30.3% of the workforce. Similarly, when companies in the UK were forced to report their gender pay gap figures starting from April 2017, most reported double-digit differences in pay disparity. In 2017, the average gender pay gap was 29.8% at Universal, 22.7% at Sony and 49% at Warner. However, this has improved since then with the same companies reporting smaller pay gaps in 2018 (29.1% at Universal, 20.9% at Sony and 38.7% at Warner). 

Although some companies did address these issues in their town halls, as previously mentioned, information regarding how the perspectives from these discussions will be incorporated into the future action plans has not yet been made public. 

But perhaps Thomas and Agyeman’s movement can still be a catalyst for change within the industry. Though the Show Must Be Paused campaign quickly ran amok, it still managed to achieve some of its main objectives. It opened up a dialogue about systemic racism within the music industry, it empowered Black voices, it elevated platforms for activism, it shined a light on the exploitation of Black artists, and it provided people across the world an opportunity to reflect on the Black experience – and that was just Phase One of the movement.

On 12th June, Thomas and Agyeman released another statement on the Show Must Be Paused Instagram regarding what they referred to as the ‘second act’ of this movement. In the statement, they outlined two new goals:

“1. Create equality of access and enact a redistribution of power.    2. Repurpose existing resources to provide a platform that amplifies social justice initiatives.”

Though they have not yet revealed the exact actions that these goals will manifest themselves in, it is clear that Black Out Tuesday will exist for much longer than just a single day. For them, activism cannot be contained within a 24 hour period, rather, as stated by Thomas and Agyeman, “Every day presents an opportunity to expand our collective power.”