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Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism University of Southern California
Nation/World

#BlackOutDay Receives Boost In Social Media Engagement After Multiple Month Hiatus

The social media movement  #BlackOutDay took over Twitter Monday to bring awareness to positive images of black men and women. At its peak, there were over 200,000 tweets with the hashtag.

The social media movement #BlackOutDay took over Twitter Monday to bring awareness to positive images of black men and women. At its peak, there were over 200,000 tweets with the hashtag.

Marissa Rei Sebastian, one of the co-creators behind #BlackOutDay, called the online event which first occurred in February, a “positivity-slash-visibility movement,” built around selfies of black men and women.

She said that the movement chose to focus on selfies as a way of curating positive images of people of color. 

“We want to increase visibility and start a dialogue and combat stereotypes about what it means to be black, and kind of give people a space to be positive and to uplift each other,” she said.

By creating an online movement instead of an in-person one, the co-creators hope to make the movement more accessible to participants and to a wider audience. 

“With hashtag activism and all that stuff, it’s easier for you to spread a message to people that you don’t have access to in real life in real time with face-to-face dialogue,” she said. 

Sebastian attributes the success of Monday’s campaign, which was featured on Tumblr and Instagram, to the accessibility of social media  especially to teenagers and young adults. 

“Because it’s social media you’ve got a ton of people my age or a little older – I’m 21 – you know, interacting with the content the most, and more often I think than older people,” Sebastian said. 

Kathrina Ruiz was another one of the young participants on Monday. She's a USC sophomore who posted on Tumblr. 

She said white men and women are sometimes held as the only standards of beauty in the media. She saw #BlackOutDay as one way to combat that perception. 

“It’s kind of uplifting and empowering for a lot of these people to show their skin tone and say, ‘Yes, I’m black and while the media may not love me, I love myself, and it’s kind of like a role model for young kids that are growing up,” Ruiz said.

Ruiz is also involved with “I, Too, Am USC,” another online-based campaign.

According to its description online, “I, Too, Am USC” aims to create a space for sharing the experiences of “all marginalized communities,” including discussions based on race.

Ruiz believes that participating online in campaigns like these makes it possible for students to participate, especially when it is difficult to schedule events like protests.

Online campaigns also add a more personal element, she added, in comparison to a more general protest.

“People are able to share their voices and their opinions in ways that they can’t otherwise through a protest,” Ruiz said.

The next #BlackOutDay will be held on December 21.

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