As the Editorial Intern at Anthony Thomas Advertising, I have written numerous posts for the ATA blog. Many of these posts have been my thoughts on advertising or social media campaigns. Typically, when trying to decide on a blog topic, I try and choose something I am passionate about, that is topical, or — ideally — a combination of the two. So, when I was first tasked with writing another post for our blog, I initially thought that I would write about Black Lives Matter and June 2nd’s #BlackOutTuesday.
Like many white liberals, I have spent the past several days angry, uncomfortable, and constantly reminding myself that this moment in history is not about me. And I thought that, because of this, I should examine #BlackOutTuesday through the lens of marketing. However, as I began this process, I quickly realized that I was mistaken, despite my good intentions.You see, I am not active or participatory on social media in my personal life. Therefore, I needed to do more research on the events of June 2nd myself. And, the more research I did about #BlackOutTuesday the more I second guessed myself about writing on the topic. As I learned (from articles like Luke Darby’s informative “What Is Blackout Tuesday, and Why Might It Be a Bad Idea?”), many activists seemed to be fearful that the campaign actually would dilute the amount of useful and necessary information that was/is needed on social media.
So, I quickly began to realize that writing about this hashtag — no matter how supportive I was trying to be — likely would have come across as tone deaf. I did not want to create the false illusion that I was more concerned about the hashtag than the actual movement and change itself. This is not even to mention the fact that it would just further contribute to essential information being diluted or drowned out.
I refuse to view Black Lives Matter as some social media trend or viral campaign. And while I am admittedly uncomfortable writing this post, I would much rather be honest and respectful. I did not want to cram such an important movement into the box of a marketing campaign and trivialize it, just so I could easily write about it.
And now, in the spirit of honesty, I am nervous to be too long-winded in this post. As a white, cis male with privilege, now is not the time for me to take up space. Now is the time for me to listen, now is the time for me to donate, and now is the time for me to support.
“So I will commit to showing up with deep humility and doing the best I can. I will keep getting it wrong, which is the closest I can come to getting it right. When I am corrected, I will stay open and keep learning. Not because I want to be the wokest woke who ever woked. But because other people’s children are dying of racism, and there is no such thing as other people’s children.”
-Glennon Doyle, Untamed
