On December 6th, social media websites like tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram had a hashtag trending #Blackout. No, there wasn’t some mass power outage, it was a campaign for representation.
I don’t think people realize the importance of representation until they’re the ones that are never seen. That’s the best thing #Blackout has provided to the online community. Ever since it started back in December 2015, there has been an increase of visual representation of people of color.
All you have to do to participate is to identify as black. You can be mixed Black, Caribbean Black, or African Black. Then, the post you make can be of a selfie or art you created. #Blackout happens three to four times a year. The goal is to flood the internet with images of black people for an entire day. This all stems from the fact that all you see on the internet is white people.For a long time, the standard of beauty has always been focused on white people. It makes people who don’t fit that mold feel inadequate. There has been more of a push recently to show more people of color to a wider audience, and the response has been incredible.
Not to get too personal here, but I was always insecure about the way I looked. When I was younger, I felt ugly. My hair never grew past my shoulders, my eyes are so dark that you can’t even see the color, and my thighs are so big that they rub against my pants, making them tear. I felt uncomfortable about the way I looked because no one else looked like me. Everyone that I saw on television had long hair that cascaded down their body perfectly. They had eyes that shone naturally without being in the sun. They could wear the same pair of jeans without worrying about their inner thighs ripping them apart. With #Blackout, I was able to see more people like me. I was able to see that other people understood and had the same insecurities I face on a daily basis, and it has given me more confidence about myself
#Blackout does more than just being the top trending hashtag for the day. It has become a movement and it’s giving the silenced a voice. So next time you hear about #Blackout Day, put yourself out there. Maybe you can connect with someone else that looks like you, and make them feel good about yourselves.
Here’s one of the pictures I posted on my first #Blackout day!