Celebrities have been using their status to voice their concerns for issues they care about for years. Social media has only made this much easier. Celebrities are now closer to their audiences than ever before and many are using this to voice their opinions and as a platform to voice their concerns about important issues such as climate change, discrimination, equality, police brutality and human rights.
Recent events have outraged many people in this country, social media is a platform where one can reach millions and celebrities are taking advantage of this and not only sharing their lives but also using their fame to speak up on important issues and to educate others. I have complied a list of 5 “woke” celebrities you should follow on social media because they have not been afraid to speak about issues that matter.
1. Lauren Jauregui: @LaurenJauregui
Lauren Jauregui is a member of the popular girl group Fifth Harmony. Over the past two years she has been voicing her opinion and where she stands on current policies and issues such as women’s rights, the transgender ban, race relations, and the immigrant bans. She shared an open letter to Trump supporters about hatred and daily struggles, which she published on her social media. She tweets about body positivity, race issues music and everything in between.
In an interview with Complex Jauregui spoke about the importance of speaking up when one has a platform in which words can have real impact. “I’ve got all these young people watching me and caring about what I have to say, I should say something important, because I’m so passionate about it—I’ve been writing about it since I was like 10. I thought, why not just say it out loud and have people read it and maybe learn something.”
2. Chance the Rapper: @chancetherapper
Chance has been an advocate for Chicago education for a while now. He has taken to social media to help raise awareness about such issues, including police brutality. In a recorded message former President Barrack Obama, congratulated Chance on being an advocate for public education, and spoke about the importance of his advocacy.
“We want to make sure that we are nurturing and protecting and encouraging and loving the next generation of leaders all throughout the city of Chicago. So Chance, I’m grateful for everything that you’ve done on behalf of the young people back home.”
3. Jack Antonoff: @jackantonoff
Jack Antonoff, front man of Bleachers, and producer of many of your favorite pop hits, is heavily engaged on social media and is speaking up about LGBTQ+ issues. Antonoff is co-founder of The Ally Coalition, an organization dedicated to creating a coalition of allies that will use their voice to speak up to end the discrimination against LGBTQ+ community.
4. Jorge Ramos: @jorgeramosnews
Jorge Ramos, Mexican-American journalist and author, is known for asking the hard questions and tackling issues that affect both the US and Mexico such as immigrant rights, freedom of the press and racism.
During a commencement speech for the University of Southern California School for Communication and Journalism he spoke about the importance of truth in journalism and how social media is changing how journalism is viewed.
“You are in the business of telling the truth, in the business of speaking truth to power. You are in a business in which credibility and trust are the most important things. With millions of tidbits of information, videos and, honestly, a lot of trash, your responsibility is to put that information in perspective, to tell us what is relevant and what is not, and to be fiercely independent.”
5. Zendaya: @Zendaya
Zendaya, 19-year-old actress has used her platform to fight against online bullying, stereotypes of black women and all racial injustices. She is one of many young women who use social media as a way to speak their truth and she has not disappointed. Along with clapping back at online haters, she has reminded us of the Flint Water crisis, mourned those who have lost their lives to police brutality and has promoted body positivity.
In an interview with TIME she mentions how social media can be underestimated at times, she believes in using this platform to raise awareness and money for important issues.
“I don’t think people understand the power of social media or our phones. I am really proud of the fact that I’m able to use people knowing my name and knowing who I am for good things, whether it’s a simple tweet or a paragraph about how something made me feel. With this platform, I’m able to work on so much charity, I’ve been able to do so many cool projects and get people donating through their phone. I think that’s really cool, using myself to promote things other than myself.”