Utah Athletics Participate In Blackout Tuesday Movement Aimed to Amplify Black Voices
Jun 2, 2020, 11:50 AM | Updated: Jun 3, 2020, 11:32 am
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – University of Utah athletic programs are participating in Blackout Tuesday, a movement created to amplify the voices of black people on social media. The premise is to “mute” personal content and in place of it share content from black creators.
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You can learn more about the movement below.
Utah Athletic Teams
Team Twitter and Instagram pages from all over Utah athletics including coaches posted on Tuesday.
#BlackOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/ZyoqoNlU4A
— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) June 2, 2020
Mark Harlan, Director Of Athletics
“Listen. Learn. Act.” Harlan wrote on Twitter.
Listen. Learn. Act.#blackouttuesday pic.twitter.com/4z7lpe7S9f
— Mark Harlan (@MarkHarlan_AD) June 2, 2020
Utah Football
#BlackoutTuesday pic.twitter.com/7c8giwnF0E
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) June 2, 2020
Kyle Whittingham, Head Football Coach
#BlackoutTuesday pic.twitter.com/R8JeAfTWAH
— Kyle Whittingham (@UtahCoachWhitt) June 2, 2020
Kiel McDonald, Running Backs Coach
#BlackOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/tZHMO7PHvc
— Coach Kiel McDonald (@Coach_KMcDonald) June 2, 2020
Fred Whittingham, Tight Ends Coach
#BlackoutTuesday pic.twitter.com/FpNL5KN6Yq
— Fred Whittingham Jr. (@FWhittinghamJr) June 2, 2020
Utah Basketball
#BlackOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/rNv6nAVtiB
— Utah Basketball🏀 (at 🏡) (@UtahMBB) June 2, 2020
Lynne Roberts, Women’s Basketball Head Coach
#BlackOutDay2020 pic.twitter.com/vlh649iKAQ
— lynne roberts (@UtesCoachRob) June 2, 2020
Utah Football Equipment
Utah Volleyball
Rich Manning, Women’s Soccer Head Coach
(Thread) #BlackoutTuesday pic.twitter.com/IzlZWvmwjK
— Rich Manning (@CoachManning) June 2, 2020
Utah Lacrosse
#BlackOutTuesday pic.twitter.com/sUe5P8a2uG
— Utah Lacrosse (@UtahLacrosse) June 2, 2020
Utah Track and Field
#blackouttuesday pic.twitter.com/tUOld2GKnK
— Utah T&F/XC (@Utah_trackfield) June 2, 2020
Student-Athletes
Rylan Jones, Basketball
Solomon Enis, Football Wide Receiver
Britain Covey, Football Wide Receiver
Nephi Sewell, Football Linebacker
Timmy Allen, Basketball
Former Student-Athletes
Tyler Huntley
Demari Simpkins
Isaac Asiata
Former Utah and NFL offensive lineman Isaac Asiata said “Stronger, TOGETHER” on Instagram.
Bradlee Anae
Troy Williams
Terrell Burgess
“Change must come,” Burgess posted.
Devontae Booker
Josh Nurse
Liz Smith, Wife Of Alex Smith
Andy Phillips
Matt Gay
Kylie Fitts
About Blackout Tuesday
Black Out Tuesday, a movement focused on amplifying the voices of people of color, began in the music industry with Atlantic Records and is spreading across all platforms of social media. Users are posting a black square to their profile, using #blackouttuesday. Organizers and creators are reminding people not to use #blacklivesmatter, as that hashtag is reserved to share information regarding the movement.
The death of George Floyd and the nationwide protests spurred the movement. Floyd was handcuffed and pinned to the ground by a Minnesota police officer. The officer – who has now been fired and arrested – held his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes on May 25, 2020. The officer involved has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
The movement was started by record executives Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agymang, according to Variety magazine. The movement was originally created using #TheShowMustBePause, but evolved into #blackouttuesday.
“Tuesday, June 2 is meant to intentionally disrupt the work week,” they wrote, “The music industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. And industry that has profited predominantly from Black art. Our mission is to hold the industry at large, including major corporations + their partners who benefit from the efforts, struggles and successes of Black people accountable.”
NBC News contributor and activist, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, posted guidelines to follow for those participating. She guided black people to continue posting while non-black people are encouraged to “mute” but to continue sharing content from people of color.
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.
