There is a new Instagram movement to support the work of black people, communities, and social media influencers.
Massive protests have taken place across different states in the US following the death of 46-year-old George Floyd.
People have taken to the streets to demand justice for black people, while several movements are taking place this week to raise awareness and educate people on the topic.
This week, there is a very important challenge going on Instagram which aims to put the focus on black people, their voices and the work they do.
So, what is the ‘I Am Muted’ movement?
What is the ‘I Am Muted’ movement?
The movement asks non-Black social media users to avoid sharing their own content from June 1st to June 7th.
Instead, using the hashtags #amplifymelanatedvoices and #mutewhitenoise, the challenge wants to give voice to people of colour and their lived experiences.
The creators of the movement argue that topics about social injustice and inequality are often told from the point of white people.
Thus, this challenge urges people to ‘mute’ content from white people and give a platform to social media accounts and organisations run by people of colour.
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Who initiated the movement?
Social media creators Alishia McCullough and Jessica Wilson initiated the movement.
Alishia is a mental health therapist who uses her platform to address topics about social injustice, racism and inequality.
Jessica is a consultant who works with people who have eating disorders. She uses her account to advocate for diet culture and body image. Plus, she aims to give voice to disabled people and those from minority backgrounds.
The ‘Amplify Melanated Voices’ movement has more than 60,000 posts on Instagram at the time of publication.
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The movement elsewhere
The movement is trending on other social media platforms as well.
On Twitter, people use the hashtags #amplifymelanatedvoices and #whitenoise to share the work of people of colour.
The same hashtags have gained popularity with TikTok users too.
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