By Monique
#BlackOutDay has become one of the biggest hashtags Twitter has ever seen, and I’m sure a lot of you out there are wondering where it came from.
Tumblr user Y.R.N. created the hashtag in the hopes of creating a way for black people to express themselves and their creativity without judgement or fear of stereotypes. The basis of the day seems to be that black people are ridiculed and bullied every day while the white beauty, creativity, and achievements are lauded at non-white people’s expense. The hashtag is meant to be a way to uplift black creativity and blackness in general to show black people and the rest of America (and the world) that black people are varied in their looks, ways of life, ideas, and creative outlets, and that black people should be respected as individuals with purpose.
Now, #BlackOut will be a hashtag that occurs every first Friday of the month, so if you didn’t participate this time, you’ll have plenty of chances.
Check out some of the tweets that helped create a movement out of this hashtag.
#BlackOutDay beautiful talented sistas ✊ pic.twitter.com/r9slnDXIP6
— IG:NAEMALIK (@TheBig_Neo) March 7, 2015
RT @zellieimani Twitpic yourself doing something outside stereotypical notions of Blackness. #BlackOutDay pic.twitter.com/RJdmdGdXFS
— Ms. Obie (@BrookeObie) March 7, 2015
Video with this mother and daughter dancing is too cute #BlackOutDay pic.twitter.com/l4u6qQzTJ9
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) March 7, 2015
Really great–>#BlackOutDay: Trending Twitter Hashtag Celebrates Black People, Fights Negative Stereotypes – ABC News http://t.co/6P5n5y7FIp
— Alexis G. Stodghill (@lexisb) March 7, 2015
Me and my father, RIP daddy. I hope i make you proud. You made me always be unapologetically Black. #BlackOutDay pic.twitter.com/fi4rUl7EZJ
— zellie (@zellieimani) March 7, 2015
“@Bainst06: @TheOrlandoJones I like to think see. pic.twitter.com/ccBJ1BtA4J” Serious #BlackOutDay photo!
— Sistah Geek (@S_Hero4Hire) March 7, 2015
#BlackOutDay RT “@printmag: Insider Histories: Iconic Black Cartoonist E. Simms Campbell http://t.co/QGwovUKZrj pic.twitter.com/ZTUgEK8tXD”
— April (@ReignOfApril) March 7, 2015
OMG this precious little Muslima is your neice?! RT @krennylavitz: My niece #BlackOutDay pic.twitter.com/vExhQ9k9GL
— DarkSkintDostoyevsky (@daniecal) March 7, 2015
All Hail! RT @MissAngelaDavis: #BlackOutDay. Queen Biscuit. pic.twitter.com/Vmis0mA6VN
— DarkSkintDostoyevsky (@daniecal) March 7, 2015
She’s been on my TL ALL day. Beautiful. RT “@MayaAMonroe: Happy #BlackOutDay everyone✨? pic.twitter.com/EWUNS7VBek”
— April (@ReignOfApril) March 7, 2015
#BlackOutDay Being all sorts of #BLACK – @thewayoftheid @Awkward_Duck @GeekNStereo pic.twitter.com/xr2rN8btsT
— Elon James White (@elonjames) March 7, 2015
#BlackExcellence RT @girlscouts: #FlashbackFriday: The first Black Girl Scout Troop. #BlackoutDay pic.twitter.com/vmOq6YRGtF
— EBONY (@EBONYMag) March 6, 2015
Me & my pops #BlackOutDay pic.twitter.com/jWKh4fpLXA
— Orlando Jones (@TheOrlandoJones) March 6, 2015
Iconic Black #scifi characters #BlackOutDay pic.twitter.com/cHHdzmTSde
— The 7th Matrix (@The7thMatrix) March 6, 2015
(Left) My dad, uncle and aunts. (Right) My great great grandma, grandma and great grandma! #BlackOutDay pic.twitter.com/rXCxP6SYdU
— Bougie Black Girl (@BougieBlackGurl) March 6, 2015
big girl honoring @EspeSpalding at her black living history project #BlackOutDay #BlackFutureMonth pic.twitter.com/x2xzaYbJpy
— Jenifer Daniels, APR (@jentrification) March 6, 2015
Modong Manuela Mo is one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen #BlackOutDay pic.twitter.com/Hzcc3OkfhT
— Bougie Black Girl (@BougieBlackGurl) March 6, 2015
My family (Mom, my stepdad Staff, sisters, their husbands & my niece) at my PhD graduation, May 1, 2010. #BlackOutDay pic.twitter.com/fGwxvWBGHZ
— Ebony Elizabeth (@Ebonyteach) March 6, 2015
Last one…From the Black Nerd Problems fam with love, happy #BlackOutDay #BlackNerdProblems pic.twitter.com/K7EAgwcs1h
— Black Nerd Problems (@blknrdproblems) March 6, 2015
‘Loves struggle. Loves the Folk. Loves herself. Regardless.’ #BlackOutDay #BlackGirlMagic http://t.co/kVgjF16DrE pic.twitter.com/BJV9Cu1u6I
— Media Diversified (@WritersofColour) March 6, 2015
RT @humbled_: Nah. It's still #BlackOutDay to me. Don't confine self love to one day. It's everyday http://t.co/E7w80nClr3
— FilmFatale_NYC 🇭🇹 🇩🇴 🇺🇸 (@FilmFatale_NYC) March 7, 2015
For #BlackOutDay I'm sharing a #selfie I took at the @apartheidmuseum. One of my most MOVING experiences ever. pic.twitter.com/8dDIAsCBSW
— Britni Danielle (@BritniDWrites) March 7, 2015
Julian 