Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors says the music industry’s initiative with #blackouttuesday is “powerful” and a “huge show of support” for the movement.
Instagram feeds were flooded with blackout photos Tuesday to “take a pause” as a show of solidarity for black lives and the protests around the nation in response to the killing of George Floyd.
“We’re also in a moment where many people can really examine how law enforcement is impacting the community, and what they can do specifically to create a new way of being when it comes to law enforcement,” Cullors told Variety. “And let me just say that while it’s very important that we’re talking about police violence, we also must talk about mass incarceration. This is a really important opportunity to link those two issues, and we’re deeply involved with them both.”
She mentioned black artists like Lizzo, who constantly use their platform to celebrate black lives and art.
“We’re looking at all the black musicians who are showing up and standing up — like Lizzo, who I just had a phone call with yesterday. She’s excited about joining, and [last week] she was up in Minneapolis protesting outside the fourth [police] precinct. There are a lot of folks — we’re really close with Boogie, from Compton. There are a lot of musicians joining our movement and showing up in an authentic way,” she added.
“But we need every single musician —black, white, Asian, whoever — to show up right now. We’re not going to change what’s happening between law enforcement and black people until everybody shows up to change it. I just got a call from the general manager of Motown Records, and he wanted to support the work that we’re doing. That’s one of the first organizations or companies that has contacted us directly,” she said.
Cullors is working to launch a new website for the movement of Black Lives, she says, that will be a coalition of organizations across the country.
“We really want to direct people to ways they can take action every single day, and we’re really excited to continue to provide leadership in this moment,” she said.
