Friday, March 6, 2015 – A huge portion of both Tumblr and Twitter users participated in a “blackout” on this day. This blackout became a widely known designated day for all black people to post photos of themselves to show off their beautiful skin and confident smiles.

Tumblr user Expect-the-greatest called this blackout into action, claiming that there were not enough photos of beautiful black people circulating on the Tumblr and Twitter feeds, and social media in general. “ALL black people are beautiful and worthy of praise and admiration, and Blackout day is a step towards that,” Expect-the-greatest posted.

Over 160,000 tweets and Tumblr posts hashtagged #blackoutday dedicated to the admiration of beautiful strong black people took over social media on March 6, and since that day, although not as many new posts are being made, these gorgeous photos are powerful and still circulating.

This blackout was more than a trend on social media sites. This blackout promoting the beauty of black people promotes human rights and ties in with the powerful declaration #blacklivesmatter.

Senior Grayson Mullen gave her opinion on the effect this blackout has on social media.

“I think it positively affects social media because it gets people to take a moment to appreciate all people,” she said.

This seems to be the general opinion of those who have respect for all races and recognize the beauty of all skin colors. It’s definitely no secret that the black to white ratio when it comes to photos deemed “beautiful” is way off and in the favor of white people. It seems only right that this ratio should be equalized to help people understand that all people are worthy of love and admiration regardless of race. According to Here and Now news station, New York’s Fashion Week statistics just prove that the ratios are wrong.

“Yet, for all the talk about the need for more diversity in fashion, the numbers remain stubbornly the same. Between 2008 and 2014, the percentage of white models at New York Fashion Week has hovered around 80 percent. Less than 3 percent of Fashion Week designers are African-American.” Here and Now then followed up by reporting that the numbers in 2015 haven’t been much different; the call for change has clearly not resulted in change.

Some social media users shared that they were confused about blackout day because they thought it was racist to designate a specific day for solely photos of black people to be “promoted.” Tumblr user Bring-it-love was one of many that responded to these thoughts.

“No, it’s not racist. And here is why: the media is eurocentric and -let’s be honest- pretty damn racist. Tumblr flat out ignored Black History Month but will promote doughnuts and trees and Seinfeld reruns?”

Blackout day, although maybe not as well known as it could have been, is a positive step towards recognizing and welcoming the beauty in all skin colors, and acknowledging that white people are certainly not the only race that is beautiful. The most important message here is that all people and all races are beautiful.