Blackout Protest Analysis

Zoe Meade

Dr. Stephanie Brown

ENG 306

10 November, 2016

#Blackout Protest Analysis

#TheBlackout’s official image

The social media movement #TheBlackout was born out of the wake of oppression and a lack of representation in media that the members of the black community have been facing for quite some time. Beginning on March 6th, 2015 and then occurring on the 6th day of every third month from there, #Blackout or #TheBlackout is a day where members of the black community take to social media and using the hashtag (#) #theblackout, they “take over” popular social media outlets, such as Tumblr, twitter and Facebook, with pictures, art and other creative work created by black people.  When analyzing the official image of the movement, it is clear that this act of protest is specifically tied to the black community and the issues they face, as well as highlighting the use of social media as a platform for their protest.

The unique image that is the first thing a viewer sees on the #Blackout’s official page truly expresses the essence of the protest. Shaped with a t, to represent the original platform, tumbler, It represents the black identity through the use of statements  such “BLACK” “BLACK LIVES MATTER” and “BLACK SOUL”. It also highlights the the movement's main goal, which was to promote the importance of black people in media and challenge the “traditional beauty standards”. Statements such as “PRIDE” “SELFIE” and “F-YOUR BEAUTY STANDARDS” can be found dispersed in the the T and represent the rocky relationship between the black community and modern media. In a time where black people's lives have come under fire, having representation in the media besides unappealing stereotypes would help to lessen the divide between members of the black community and other races. Additionally, The size of the different statements help bring to focus the most important ideals within the protest. The use of this image as the introduction to the protest helps people outside of the protest understand what it is trying to accomplish and the identity it represents.

This image is a form of protest because it specifically aligns the #blackout with the black community and the black community alone. With “Black Lives Matter” plastered across the main section of the image, it connects itself with a larger protest that people both inside and outside the black community are very much aware of. The creators of the protest want people to be very aware of the black identity that the protest has aligned itself with, while also forcing the viewer to ask questions about the movement, so that they might educate themselves. The image makes itself very clear with the statements about social media, beauty standards and black lives matter. The black community is sick of lack of representation and the horrors in which black people face everyday. This protest is going to attempt to change at least some of those issues, while simultaneously creating a safespace where members of the black community can showcase their creativity and their personal beauty.

The moment in the movement that image is representing is pretty clear. While the protest was being planned for quite some time, the decided date for the first #Blackout, was decided on. March 6th 2015 would be the day that members of Tumblr’s black community would take over the pages of its uses and create a sea of black faces, black bodies and black people’s art that would overshadow all other races that day. March 6th was decided on because Friday’s tend to be one of  the most active day on social media, (Gerbaudo) and having it within the first week of the month would make it easy to remember and organize.  It started slowly at first, but as the day went on more and more members of the black community began to participate. Eventually, the movement was reported by popular internet sites such as BuzzFeed and TheGloss, which lead to an even larger amount of support. By the end of the day, ABCNew decided to cover the movement saying “#BlackOutDay is a social media campaign today celebrating black beauty and fighting against negative images and stereotypes perpetuated in the media”(Tan). The image was used in all of the articles as a representation of the #blackout movement and an invitation to members of the black community to come and join in the protest. As the movement gained popularity, the protest spilled out into other social media sites. By the end of the day, a larger image had been rendered, which could be used to represent the many different social media sites that protest had taken over

Represented social media sites are Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Vine and Twitter

This artifact of the “Blackout movement clearly displays the black identity that the protest wished to represent. Social media is an outlet for all kinds of people to show off their creativity,  make social commentary on the times, enjoy the company of others, and see their personal identities in the media these sites choose to show. However, in these growing technological times, there is a distinct lack of representation in the media of marginalized peoples. In a time where the members of the black community face a constant wave of negativity about their identity, #theblackout protest was created so that the beauty of the black community could be celebrated and the members of the black community could have a safe space in which they could show their creative talents and personal beauty. Additionally, it is hard for someone who is not black to understand what it must feel like to feel underrepresented in the media, until their entire social “feed” is overtaken by people who do not look like them.

Images are powerful tools. The saying “a picture speaks a thousand words” in not actually that much of a reach. However, #theblackout choose to take it to another level, and created their own, emotionally charged, personal image that would represent their protest and the identity of its members. While the image may not be initially as powerful as a photo might be, it truly encompasses the point of the #Blackout protest. With “BLACK” and “BLACK LIVES MATTER” boldly taking of the largest parts of the images, the invokes an immediate emotional response, while also being very clear about the identity of the is protest. The #Blackout is meant for members of the black community, and anyone who sees this image is clearly aware of that. Then the smaller words, like “BEAUTY STANDARDS” and “PRIDE” bring for the ideals that the protest is going to address. Finally, “SELFIE” and “TUMBLR” express that point that social media will be used as the main platform for this movement. The creator of this movement T’Von wanted it to be know that this protest and this hashtag were for black people, by black people, and while other communities were free to share the images and works created on #Blackout day, the should refrain from adding their own.  In a time where the members of the black community feel as though their lives don’t matter, and their bodies are not beautiful, the #blackout was born to protest those ideas and bring forth change in the media and the community.

Works Cited

Gerbaudo, Paolo. Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism. London: Pluto, 2012. Print.

Tan, Avianne. "#BlackOutDay: Trending Twitter Hashtag Celebrates Black People, Fights Negative Stereotypes." ABC News. ABC News Network, 6 Mar. 2015. Web. 09 Nov. 2016.

Theblackoutofficial. "Theblackoutofficial." #TheBlackout. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2016.