Blackout Day

Blackout Day refers to social media events and activist campaigns aimed at combating anti-Black racism. These events typically occur on social media platforms over 24 hours during which Black Lives Matter activists encourage supporters to participate in protests and symbolic actions. Past actions have included urging supporters to refrain from spending money or exclusively support Black-owned businesses during Blackout Day.

The primary stated purpose of Blackout Day was focused on media representation of Black people, not police brutality. That came later, especially after 2020 events. Sharing content created by and featuring Black creators of any nationality is another common element on social media. Specific hashtags, such as #TheBlackout and #BlackoutDay, are used to connect users and increase the awareness of related content. Blackout Day originated on March 6, 2015.^[1] Since December 21, 2015, and starting March 6, 2016, it has typically been observed on the sixth day of every third month.^[2]

In 2020, Blackout Day received increased attention on social media following the murder of George Floyd. The shooting of Breonna Taylor, the death of Elijah McClain, the shooting of Tony McDade, and other instances of police brutality have also been cited as contributing factors.^[3] In June 2020, Blackout Day gained wider visibility, with many users of platforms like Meta's Instagram and Snapchat posting black screens and related Blackout Day hashtags to acknowledge these deaths and express their views on police reforms. Blackout Day has since been used for various purposes beyond its initial intent.

The event was conceived in early February 2015 by Tumblr user T'von Green.^[4] Green observed a lack of Black representation on social media and a prevalence of Eurocentric beauty standards, particularly on Tumblr.

"I got inspired to propose Blackout Day after thinking, 'Damn, I'm not seeing enough Black people on my dash.' Of course, I see a constant number of Black celebrities but what about the regular people? Where is their shine?"^[2][4]

He noted that depictions of Black people were often negative.^[5] Research indicates that negative portrayals of Black people in the media can adversely affect the self-perception of members of the Black community.^[6] These images are accessible to anyone with media access. Although images of Black people have increased in mass media, their representation has been disproportionately negative, often linked to violence and crime.^[7] When not depicted as criminals, Black people are often represented as entertainers such as athletes or musicians.^[7] These polarized identities leave a range of people within the Black community feeling unrepresented. While associating Black people with athleticism is not inherently harmful, it can be detrimental when it is the sole association made. Green believed there was a need for positive and relatable images of the Black community on social media platforms.

Concerned about these issues, Green sought feedback on his idea via Tumblr. Through these interactions, he met Marissa Sebastian, who created the movement's name and later became its PR and CEO, and Tumblr user V. Matthew King-Yarde (known as Nukrik), who created the event's logos.^[8][9][10]

Blackout Day was planned as a 24-hour event to expose the online Black community and others on social media to positive images of everyday Black individuals through selfies, videos, gifs, and other media, aiming to combat stereotypes. The idea spread once it was named and gained supporters within the Black Tumblr community. An official website was created^[11] to provide the online Black community with information on the event's timing and participation methods. Before the event, the creators posted guidelines on who could participate and how.^[12]

After the initial event, the creators decided to make it a monthly occurrence on the first Friday of every month. However, the frequency was debated by supporters; some felt it would lose impact if too frequent, suggesting a yearly event on the launch day, while others thought it should be more frequent.^[8] It was then changed to a seasonally themed event occurring on September 21 and December 21 until January 2016, after which it was set for the 6th of every third month.^[2] Each Blackout Day was themed around Black heritage or history, and participants were encouraged to post content related to the theme.^[2]

The stated guidelines for Blackout Day are:^[2]

• If you are Black, either from Africa or from within the African diaspora, or of mixed Black heritage, post a picture of yourself for others to view and re-blog/re-tweet/re-post.
• Tag or mention #Blackoutday or #TheBlackout.
• Scroll through the tag and re-blog, re-tweet, or re-post photos to support others.
• Non-Black or White people can re-blog posts in the tags to show support.
• Support posts with lower numbers of likes and re-blogs as well.

Official hashtags used include #TheBlackout and #BlackoutDay.

According to Twitter analytic service Topsy, the hashtag #BlackOutDay was one of the top trending hashtags on Twitter in the United States, with over 58,000 tweets by noon,^[13] and was a trending topic on Facebook. The creators initiated dialogue about race and the portrayal of Black people in the media, both online and offline.^[14]

Outside social media, they sought to continue these dialogues through partnerships, including a deal with Book Riot to sponsor 22 Black readers and writers.^[15] However, the event faced opposition, with hashtags such as #Whiteout being created as a public objection. The principle was similar to Blackout Day but featured selfies of white people. The creators addressed this issue by reiterating their movement's goal.^[10]

Other minority groups have created similar variations, such as #Yellowoutday and #Brownoutday, though with limited success. The creators suggested these efforts be more original and create tags more distinguishable from theirs.^[10]