The text on the image reads
EVERY DAY
BLACK LIVES MATTER
A recurring chant during the protests that I've heard that I did not immediately understand was, "Every day!" I did some reading and poking around on the internet and learned some things. Let me illustrate.
Tuesday was a big show of black squares blotting out people's social media accounts in support of what ended up being various aspects of Black Lives Matter in addition to the support of Black music artists. From where I am, it looked like a huge amount of participation in different forms. It wasn't perfect, but it was a thing a lot of people could do.
Then, Wednesday happened.
Black squares removed. Social media seemed back to ads for services and merchandise and whatever else it is we do on our various platforms, at least in the corner of the internet where I dwell. It was one day out of a lot of people's lives.
One day.
Black Lives Matter Every Day. Every Day. Every. Day.
Every day Black lives matter.
They matter Wednesday as much as Tuesday. They matter next year as much as they matter right now. They matter whether there's a protest or not.
I saw a tweet that I wish I would have saved that explained the sentiment and the chant succinctly and in perspective. I'm doing what I can over here to do it justice. If I find the tweet again, I'll add it to this post or link to it.
So, what am I doing?
For now and for as long as it feels right, my daily journals are about Black Lives Matter. I don't know when that'll change. It's helping me feel connected while I'm still at home taking care of my risk levels during a pandemic while a necessary and glorious movement happens. I hope it speaks to or even helps someone else. Even if it doesn't, it's at least keeping me away from the oubliette.
On #BlackOutTuesday, I learned about, highlighted, and followed a few Black artists. My plan is to learn about, highlight, and follow a Black artist every Tuesday. That's 52 artists a year for as long as I can keep it up. And if I happen to learn about an artist when it isn't Tuesday, rest assured, I won't hold back the love.