‘Blackout Tuesday’ raises awareness of racial inequality

On June 2, more than 19 million people took to their social media to post black screens for what would be called “Blackout Tuesday”. The intentions set in place by two young Black women in the music industry, Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, were for people to take a break from sharing their daily lives and spread awareness to the horrible racial inequality battle we are fighting right now. The purpose of that Tuesday was definitely heard with so many posts, but activists are also saying it’s more important to speak out and share helpful resources to this fight rather than staying silent and post nothing. 

One of the main reasons to share these things and to speak out about racial inequality is so that everyone can be educated and learn about the history of racism and its current effects as well. Racism has existed in America for hundreds of years and although everyone is supposedly equal under the law that statement seems to be proven untrue when innocent people are killed purely because of their race by law officials. People of color get treated differently and poorly everyday for no reason and that is something we need to change by speaking out. 

It’s important to understand that throughout history White people and the system tortured Black people, creating this racist culture in the first place. We have paid the price by not acting out as a country sooner, we see racism everyday and have ignored it. Names like Christian Cooper, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Atatiana Jefferson, Alton Sterling, and Trayvon Martin no one heard until now, all people that are dead because of the color of their skin, dead because we as a country failed them. 

Everyone in this country has the moral duty to support the Black Lives Matter protest regardless of your race. Black Americans suffer everyday from a cycle that keeps repeating and a system that continues to fail them. We must insist on change as a society to make it a better place for every Black person in America.