Utah Athletics Participate In Blackout Tuesday Movement Aimed to Amplify Black Voices
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.
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.
Mark Harlan, Director Of Athletics
“Listen. Learn. Act.” Harlan wrote on Twitter.
Utah Football
Kyle Whittingham, Head Football Coach
Kiel McDonald, Running Backs Coach
Fred Whittingham, Tight Ends Coach
Utah Basketball
Lynne Roberts, Women’s Basketball Head Coach
Utah Football Equipment
Utah Volleyball
Rich Manning, Women’s Soccer Head Coach
Utah Lacrosse
Utah Track and Field
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.
