4 Actions White People Can Take Today, After #BlackOutTuesday

Showing Up for Racial Justice
3 min readJun 3, 2020

Are you new to racial justice and looking for ways to take meaningful action?

Maybe you “blacked out” your social media profile yesterday, or saw many people and businesses doing so. We’d like to share some important background about what was happening yesterday, as well as 4 ways you can take that statement of support and move forward with action today.

First, some background:

Many of us are fresh to the scene in supporting Black-led popular uprisings and have intentions to “follow Black leadership”, eager to make a statement showing this support. Welcome. You are needed and you have a role to play. And, we must also be diligent.

Two things were happening yesterday that are important to understand:

  1. The music industry created “#BlackOutTuesday,” calling musicians to pause, to disconnect from social media, and to connect with their community. Many people used the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter while posting a black square without content related to the movement.
  2. At the same time, two Black women created #AmplifyMelanatedVoices, a social media challenge to white and non-Black users to refrain from posting their own content from June 1st — 7th. Instead, they asked folks to share content from Black creators and creators of color.

The collision of these two events led many on social media to go silent and remove themselves from the information being circulated.

To be clear:

This is a time to amplify Black demands.

This is a time to listen to Black voices.

This is a time to be moved by Black art.

This is a time spread critical information that challenges power and keeps people safe, like where to donate for jail support funds and new developments on the ground.

So what can we do next?

If you didn’t know the context before now, you’re not alone. Let’s reflect, learn, and keep going. Feelings of guilt and shame may come up for white folks learning how to follow Black leadership. That is normal and natural, and it’s also important to push through it. So whether you participated in #BlackoutTuesday or not, if you’re here right now, here are four ways you can take action today.

  1. Post images and content from the Movement for Black Lives @mvmnt4blklives. Yesterday, they called for Trump to resign and continue to call for the defunding of the police. Tag #DefundPolice and #TrumpMustResign. Find, follow, and amplify local Black-led organizing.
  2. Take action. Join the 7,000 people who have committed to #EndWhiteSilence this week by joining or planning an action. Check to see if a local SURJ chapter near you is already planning an action, join them and help them organize — find a chapter near you here. Stay in this moment by taking one of the actions listed here.
  3. Make a donation to movement groups in the Twin Cities. Then find a Black-led group in your local community and make a gift there.
  4. Are you already taking these actions? It’s time to start organizing other white people. Today, directly ask three people in your life to take one of the actions you took. Be concrete and direct.

Showing Up for Racial Justice works to bring more white people and majority-white communities into multi-racial, anti-racist movements for justice. Sign up to join us here, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

This writing was done collectively by members of the SURJ national leadership team and staff, as well as members from our base.

Sign up to discover human stories that deepen your understanding of the world.

Free

Distraction-free reading. No ads.

Organize your knowledge with lists and highlights.

Tell your story. Find your audience.

Membership

Read member-only stories

Support writers you read most

Earn money for your writing

Listen to audio narrations

Read offline with the Medium app

Showing Up for Racial Justice
Showing Up for Racial Justice

Written by Showing Up for Racial Justice

SURJ is a national network that organizes white communities to join fights for racial and economic justice.

No responses yet

What are your thoughts?