BYU Athletics Joins ‘Blackout Tuesday’ Social Media Movement
Jun 2, 2020, 12:54 PM | Updated: 3:26 pm
Courtesy of @BYUCougars on Twitter
PROVO, Utah – BYU Athletics and a number of the individual athletic programs participated in the “Blackout Tuesday” social media campaign in support of the fight against racial injustice.
The official BYU Athletics Twitter account was first to show support followed by eight team accounts that included football and men’s basketball.
Backout Tuesday is a movement created to amplify the voices of black people on social media. The premise is to “mute” personal content and in place of it share content from black creators.
You can learn more about Blackout Tuesday below.
BYU Athletics
#BlackoutTuesday pic.twitter.com/4VGutat6tR
— BYU Cougars (@BYUCougars) June 2, 2020
BYU Team Accounts in support of Blackout Tuesday
#BlackoutTuesday pic.twitter.com/acVIgXJ0OA
— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) June 2, 2020
#BlackoutTuesday pic.twitter.com/auMNqKCQvh
— BYU FOOTBALL (@BYUfootball) June 2, 2020
#BlackoutTuesday pic.twitter.com/SvntG2elkd
— BYU Baseball (@BYUBaseball) June 2, 2020
#BlackOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/SoYn0fEcI0
— BYU Women's Soccer (@byusoccer_w) June 2, 2020
#BlackOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/xPWJipIi2r
— BYU Volleyball (@BYUvolleyball) June 2, 2020
#BlackOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/IJKyy5Qqjo
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) June 2, 2020
#BlackoutTuesday pic.twitter.com/P6bYy3jMm3
— BYU Track & Field and Cross Country (@BYUTFXC) June 2, 2020
#BlackoutTuesday pic.twitter.com/TrPG2TRwj1
— BYU Women’s Volleyball (@BYUwvolleyball) June 2, 2020
Photo courtesy of @BYUcougarettes Instagram
BYU Coaches and Athletes
— Mark Pope (@CoachMarkPope) June 2, 2020
#BlackOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/sLAwgACI2T
— Nick Robinson (@CoachNick_BYU) June 2, 2020
BYU Alumni
Blackout Tuesday
Blackout Tuesday, a movement focused on amplifying the voices of people of color, began in the music industry with Atlantic Records and is spreading across all platforms of social media. Users are posting a black square to their profile, using #blackouttuesday. Organizers and creators are reminding people not to use #blacklivesmatter, as that hashtag is reserved to share information regarding the movement.
The death of George Floyd and the nationwide protests spurred the movement. Floyd was handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a Minnesota police officer. The officer – who has now been fired and arrested – held his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes on May 25, 2020. The officer involved has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
The movement was started by record executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agymang, according to Variety magazine. The movement was originally created using #TheShowMustBePause, but evolved into #blackouttuesday.
“Tuesday, June 2 is meant to intentionally disrupt the work week,” they wrote, “The music industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. And industry that has profited predominantly from Black art. Our mission is to hold the industry at large, including major corporations + their partners who benefit from the efforts, struggles and successes of Black people accountable.”
NBC News contributor and activist, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, posted guidelines to follow for those participating. She guided black people to continue posting while non-black people are encouraged to “mute” but to continue sharing content from people of color.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
