Nearly 50 Black women activists and stars are set to take over Instagram handles of white female celebrities as part of the #ShareTheMicNow social media campaign. As part of the campaign, A-listers including Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kourtney Kardashian, Hilary Swank and more from the entertainment industry are lending their accounts to allow black women to share their experiences.
“When the world listens to women, it listens to white women,” read the official statement of the #SharethemicNow campaign. “For far too long, Black women’s voices have gone unheard, even though they’ve been using their voices loudly for centuries to enact change.”
Conceived by Bozoma Saint John, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, Glennon Doyle and Stacey Bendet Eisner, the social media campaign aims to magnify black women and the important work they are doing.
As part of the campaign on Wednesday, writer and activist Opal Tometi will take over Ashley Graham’s account, fashion and beauty editor Kahlana Barfield Brown will take over Julia Robert’s account, businesswoman and marketing executive Bozoma Saint John will take over Kourtney Kardashian’s account and actress, businesswoman and transgender activist Angelica Ross will take over Hilary Swank’s account, along with many more.
The campaign comes in the wake of the protests across the United States against police brutality and death of Black American George Floyd.
The #ShareTheMicNow is being received well after the earlier #BlackoutTuesday, which later drew criticism for drowning out important information. #BlackoutTuesday which again started within the entertainment industry, called for users to post black squares on their Instagram pages, but as the hasgtag picked up, social media was crowded by a wave of black square boxes, pushing down vital information.
Earlier, Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga had given their accounts to allow Black women share their stories. “I have been struggling to know the right things to say to get the word out about this important moment in history. After thinking about how best to use my social media, I decided that we all need to hear more from Black voices.
“Over the next few days I will be highlighting influential leaders and giving them a chance to take over my Instagram so that they can speak directly to all of us. We all have an obligation to do better and we can start by listening with an open heart and mind,” Gomez had said.
