Black Activists and Influencers Are Taking Over White Celebs’ Instagram Accounts Today

by Pahull Bains June 10, 2020

Today, 50 Black female activists, scholars, artists and entrepreneurs are taking over the Instagram handles of white celebrities, designers, athletes and others as part of a new social media campaign, #ShareTheMicNow. According to a press release, the campaign’s intention is to “magnify Black women and the important work that they’re doing in order to catalyze the change that will only come when we truly hear each other’s voices. The #ShareTheMicNow campaign was born from relationships and is aimed at encouraging Black and white women in relationship to recreate this action in their own spaces.”

Conceived by Endeavor chief marketing officer Bozoma Saint John, author/podcast host Luvvie Ajayi Jones, author Glennon Doyle, and alice + olivia founder Stacey Bendet, the social media movement aims to reach a total audience of 300 million people, introducing Instagram users to accounts and people who may not be on their radar.

According to the organizers, the four goals of this movement are: “To form a social media campaign that magnifies Black women’s lives and stories; to form relationships among Black women and white women – so that our future activism is born from relationships; to create a network of disruptors who know and trust each other; and to create action that could make change.”

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When the world listens to women, it listens to white women. 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. Today, more than ever, it is NECESSARY that we create a unifying action to center Black women’s lives, stories, and calls to action. We need to listen to Black women. This is why we created #ShareTheMicNow. Tomorrow, Black women will speak from the Instagram accounts of white women. The intention of this campaign is to magnify Black women and the important work that they’re doing in order to catalyze the change that will only come when we truly hear each other’s voices.

A post shared by Share the Mic Now (@sharethemicnow) on Jun 9, 2020 at 2:41pm PDT

One hundred public figures are participating in the #ShareTheMicNow movement. Some of the Instagram takeovers taking place today are: former InStyle Beauty Director Kahlana Barfield Brown on Julia Roberts’ account; Bozoma Saint John on Kourtney Kardashian’s account; Teen Vogue Editor-in-Chief Lindsay Peoples Wagner on Diane von Furstenberg’s account; activist and #MeToo founder Tarana Burke on Sophia Bush’s account; Angelica Ross, businesswoman, actress and trans rights advocate, on Hilary Swank’s account; and Eunique Jones Gibson, photographer, author and activist, on Katie Couric’s account.

“When the world listens to women, it listens to white women. 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,” say the movement’s founders in an official statement. “Today, more than ever, it is NECESSARY that we create a unifying action to centre Black women’s lives, stories, and calls to action. We need to listen to Black women.”

For the complete list of Instagram takeovers, follow @ShareTheMicNow.

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