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---
title: That Blackout Tuesday Screen Draw Criticism. Here's a Fix
description: “Blackout Tuesday“ posts are drawing criticism from protesters and supporters.
canonical: https://time.com/5846514/blackout-tuesday-screen/
author: Melissa Locker
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2020-06-02T15:09:32.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:01.069Z
og:title: 'Blackout Tuesday' Posts Draw Criticism From Protesters
og:description: Supporters are asking people not to use the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag. Here's a possible solution
og:url: https://time.com/5846514/blackout-tuesday-screen/
og:site_name: TIME
og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26f0f73adec49477/698a0ed9096a942b906a83bb/Blackout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9
og:image:width: 2121
og:image:height: 1193
og:image:alt: Blackout
og:type: article
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:title: 'Blackout Tuesday' Posts Draw Criticism From Protesters
twitter:description: Supporters are asking people not to use the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag. Here's a possible solution
twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26f0f73adec49477/698a0ed9096a942b906a83bb/Blackout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9
video:duration: 02:21
video:published: 2020-06-01
section: video
topics: protest, Black Lives Matter, chants, call and response, kneeling, peaceful demonstration, crowd slogans
genre: news footage, documentary
tones: urgent, solemn, unified, determined
emotions: determination (high), solidarity (high), anger (medium), hope (low)
sentiment: neutral
audience: general news viewers, people following protest coverage, social justice audiences, students of current events
content_suitability: politics [00:30-02:21]
transcript_source: automatic transcription
transcript_reviewed: not applicable
---

![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26f0f73adec49477/698a0ed9096a942b906a83bb/Blackout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# Social Media Posts Honoring 'Blackout Tuesday' With the Hashtag #BlackLivesMatter Draw Criticism From Protesters

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XiIpTYLk.m3u8" -->
## Video: Peaceful Protest Moments Across The Nation Over The Death Of George Floyd

[Watch (HLS stream): Peaceful Protest Moments Across The Nation Over The Death Of George Floyd](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XiIpTYLk.m3u8) (2:21)

![Peaceful Protest Moments Across The Nation Over The Death Of George Floyd](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/XiIpTYLk/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2020-06-01. Peaceful Protest Moments Across The Nation Over The Death Of George Floyd_
Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed.

## Summary
The video captures chanting from protesters at demonstrations. Crowds repeat slogans such as 'Black Lives Matter' and 'No justice, no peace.' Participants describe the gathering as a peaceful protest. Near the end, a speaker encourages others to kneel, and the crowd responds with call-and-response chants. Much of the video has no spoken words, so the transcript covers only a small portion of the footage.

## Key points
- Protesters chant 'Black Lives Matter' repeatedly at the start of the spoken portion of the video. (00:30)
- A voice calls out 'Peaceful Protest!', characterizing the gathering as peaceful. (00:39)
- A speaker acknowledges someone with 'Oh shoot, yes sir' just before chanting resumes. (01:31)
- The crowd chants 'No justice, no peace!' twice in succession. (01:35)
- Participants call out 'Take your knee!' with a response of 'Off white bro!' in a repeated exchange. (01:39)
- The call-and-response of 'Take your knee!' and 'Off white bro!' is repeated a second time. (01:43)
- A speaker urges people to get on one knee if they are able to. (01:47)

## Chapters
- [00:00 to 00:30] Opening footage without speech. The video begins with no spoken words in the transcript.
- [00:30 to 00:45] Black Lives Matter chants. Protesters chant 'Black Lives Matter' and call out 'Peaceful Protest!'
- [00:45 to 01:31] Extended stretch without speech. No spoken words are recorded across this portion of the video.
- [01:31 to 02:21] Call-and-response chants and kneeling. The crowd chants 'No justice, no peace' and exchanges calls about taking a knee.

## Key quotes
- [00:30] Protesters: "Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter!"
- [00:39] Protester: "Peaceful Protest!"
- [01:35] Protesters: "No justice, no peace!"
- [01:39] Protester: "Take your knee!"
- [01:47] Protester: "Get on one knee if you're able to y'all"

## Questions this video answers
- What slogans do protesters chant in the video? [00:30]
- How do participants describe the protest? [00:39]
- What is the 'No justice, no peace' chant used in this protest? [01:35]
- What call-and-response exchange do protesters use about kneeling? [01:39]
- What are people asked to do at the end of the spoken portion? [01:47]

## Content suitability
- politics [00:30-02:21]: Protest chants and slogans related to a social justice movement.


by 

[Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/)


## Melissa Locker


Jun 2, 2020 3:09 PM UTC

![Blackout](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt26f0f73adec49477/698a0ed9096a942b906a83bb/Blackout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

Getty Images

by 

[Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/)


## Melissa Locker


Jun 2, 2020 3:09 PM UTC

Instagram is filled with black squares today. It’s a powerful image, but one that has also drawn criticism and caution from those it is intended to [support](https://time.com/5844030/george-floyd-minneapolis-history/).

The Blackout Tuesday, or Black Out Tuesday, movement is a spinoff of “The Show Must Be Paused” campaign started by music executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang. They wanted their industry to “take a beat for an honest reflective, and productive conversation,” according to [the campaign’s website](https://www.theshowmustbepaused.com/), as a way to mark the lives lost and to show support for the ongoing [George Floyd](https://time.com/5845369/george-floyd-protests-malike-sidibe/) and Black Lives Matter [protests](https://time.com/5846449/trump-church-protests/). [As _Rolling Stone_ reports](https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/features/music-business-blackout-tuesday-1008685/), the campaign has resulted in some controversy, but musicians including [Rihanna](https://twitter.com/rihanna/status/1267700301064138754), who also paused sales at Fenty, and Drake joined the blackout on Tuesday, posting blank squares to their accounts.

> [](https://twitter.com/pausetheshow/status/1267316487909326848)

As the [symbolic show of support](https://time.com/5846072/black-people-protesting-white-people-responsible-what-happens-next/) spread across Instagram people attached the #BlackLivesMatter or #blm hashtag to the blacked out images. The popularity of the online symbol quickly overwhelmed those two hashtags and made it challenging, for protesters and activists to use those hashtags to gather information about police actions and protest movements and share important resources.


“Stop posting black squares under the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag on Instagram,” wrote [Twitter user Anthony James Williams](https://twitter.com/anthoknees/status/1267727095934799872). “It is intentionally and unintentionally hiding critical information we are using on the ground and online … Tell me how this helps Black folk. It doesn’t, and it in fact makes things a lot worse. Tell your friends and fam to stop.”

> [](https://twitter.com/anthoknees/status/1267727095934799872)


Now, Kehlani, Lil Nas X, and many others are using their platforms to point out the problem and asking supporters to stop using those two hashtags.

> [](https://twitter.com/Kehlani/status/1267707163473936384)

> [](https://twitter.com/LilNasX/status/1267719607919316997)

A simple fix—and one that many on the sites are suggesting—is for social media users who want to post a black screen and [support the movement](https://time.com/5845752/america-has-its-knee-on-us-george-floyds-death-was-a-breaking-point-protests/) to remove the #BLM and #[BlackLivesMatter](https://time.com/5844645/george-floyds-shows-we-cannot-wait-end-racism/) hashtags from their posts.


> [](https://twitter.com/KenidraRWoods%5F/status/1267725828475027456)

> [](https://twitter.com/whackkat/status/1267717654527131650)

> [](https://twitter.com/TATIANNANOW/status/1267738738010001410)


> [](https://twitter.com/anthoknees/status/1267727095934799872)

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