Dozens of celebrities – including Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ashley Graham – hand over their Instagram accounts to Black women as part of the #ShareTheMicNow campaign
- The #ShareTheMicNow social media campaign was started to ‘magnify Black women and the important work that they’re doing’
- As part of the initiative, 46 Black activists, celebrities, and content creators took over the accounts of 46 influential white women
- Roberts, 52, relinquished her account to fashion editor Kahlana Barfield Brown
- Graham, 32, passed the mic to Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi
- Paltrow, 47, handed over her account to Latham Thomas, a doula and founder of women’s health company Mama Glow
- Meanwhile, Busy Philipps, 41, shared her platform with journalist Cari Champion
Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kourtney Kardashian, and Ashley Graham are among the white female celebrities who turned over their Instagram accounts to prominent Black women on Wednesday in an effort to magnify their voices.
The #ShareTheMicNow social media campaign was started by Endeavor chief marketing officer Bozoma Saint John, author and podcast host Luvvie Ajayi Jones, author and Together Rising founder Glennon Doyle, and Alice + Olivia founder Stacey Bendet.
‘The intention of this campaign is to magnify Black women and the important work that they’re doing in order to catalyze the change that will only come when we truly hear each other’s voices,’ according to a press release.
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Using their platforms: Julia Roberts and Kourtney Kardashian were among the nearly 50 white female celebrities who turned over their Instagram accounts to Black women on Wednesday
Goal: The #ShareTheMicNow social media campaign was started to ‘magnify Black women and the important work that they’re doing’
As part of the campaign, 46 Black activists, celebrities, and content creators took over the accounts of 46 influential white women.
‘When the world listens to women, it listens to white women. For far too long, Black women’s voices have gone unheard, even though they’ve been using their voices loudly for centuries to enact change,’ campaign organizers explained on Instagram.
‘Today, more than ever, it is NECESSARY that we create a unifying action to center Black women’s lives, stories, and calls to action. We need to listen to Black women. This is why we created #ShareTheMicNow.’
The campaign comes amid the worldwide protests over the death of George Floyd — an unarmed Black man — at the hands of the police.
The initiative has four goals: ‘To form a social media campaign that magnifies Black women’s lives and stories. To form relationships among Black women and white women so that our future activism is born from relationships. To create a network of disruptors who know and trust each other. To create action that could make change.’
Roberts, 52, celebrated the social media takeover on Wednesday by introducing her longtime friend, fashion and beauty editor Kahlana Barfield Brown.
‘Today, I am thrilled to #ShareTheMicNow with my friend @kahlanabarfield I have know Kahlana for over 10 years and she has always been a source of not only great wit and intellect but compassionate insight,’ Roberts captioned a photo of herself with Brown.
‘She has some truly thoughtful and thought provoking views to share. I will be tuned in. Hope you will be listening too! The time is now. #iloveher.’
Brown shared resources and actionable items With Roberts’s 8.8 million Instagram followers that they can use to fight racial injustice in America.
End result: One of the goals of the initiative is to form relationships among Black women and white women so that future activism is born from relationship
Passing it a long: Gwyneth Paltrow, 47, handed over her account to Latham Thomas, a doula and founder of women’s health company Mama Glow
Just do it: Thomas called for Paltrow’s 7.1 million followers to identify 10 black-owned wellness brands and start supporting them
Stats: The doula also discussed maternal mortality and morbidity in the U.S., which disproportionately affect Black women at a higher rate than white women
‘Next is the most critical stage — ACTION,’ she wrote in one post. ‘We must continue to educate ourselves and contribute to the fight against police brutality and systemic racism.’
Paltrow, 47, relinquished her Instagram to Latham Thomas, a doula and founder of women’s health company Mama Glow.
‘I admire Latham’s dedication to education and advocacy, and we can all learn from her 20+ years of experience in fertility, pregnancy, birth, motherhood, and reproductive justice,’ the Goop founder said.
‘Latham’s book Own Your Glow: A Soulful Guide to Luminous Living And Crowning the Queen Within is available in paperback on Tuesday. For the rest of today, I hand over my Instagram to @glowmaven for all her wisdom. Let’s welcome her with open arms. Xo, GP.’
Thomas called for Paltrow’s 7.1 million followers to identify 10 black-owned wellness brands and start supporting them. The doula also discussed maternal mortality and morbidity in the U.S., which disproportionately affect Black women at a higher rate than white women.
Making a change: The campaign comes amid the worldwide protests over the death of George Floyd — an unarmed Black man — at the hands of the police
Your turn: Ashley Graham, 32, passed the mic to Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi
Activist: ‘I’m humbled to be alive to serve as a steward in this moment in history. I know well that we are navigating some deep and necessary things,’ Tometi said
Spreading the word: The social media campaign reached hundreds of millions of Instagram users
Warm welcome: Busy Philipps, 41, shared her platform with journalist Cari Champion
Call to action: The duo hosted an Instagram Live together, and Champion also talked about the importance of white people being disrupters right now
‘We should all be furious that Black women are dying from preventable pregnancy-related causes,’ she wrote. ‘Until black maternal health is front and center as a human rights issue- it will only be seen as a black issue. If you consider yourself a feminist, an ally — this is your issue too.’
Kardashian, 41, handed her Instagram over to businesswoman Bozoma Saint John, telling her 94.1 million followers that she is ‘so awesome.’
‘I really want to share the mic and give over my account to her so that you can hear what she has to say because I think right now it is so important that we can continue to educate ourselves,’ she said in an Instagram video introducing Saint John.
The CMO of William Morris Endeavor talked about ‘seeing beauty in blackness’ in one post shared on Kardashian’s page.
‘In this time of racial unrest, we need to change the way we see Blackness: its value, its diversity, its depth, its history, its potential,’ she explained. ‘Let’s open our eyes and see beyond the superficial biases that we have, and gain a deeper appreciation because #BlackLivesMatter.’
Graham, 32, passed the mic to activist and Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi, whom she met in 2016 when she was honored with a Glamour Women of the Year award for her work.
Full list: Dozens of of others lent their platforms to Black women as part of the campaign
‘I have been so inspired by her strength, intelligence, passion and ability to use her voice to impact change,’ she shared on Instagram. ‘I am humbled to be magnifying her work and so excited for all of you to have the opportunity to listen to and learn from her today.’
Tometi hosted an Instagram Live Q&A session with Graham’s 11 million followers.
‘I’m humbled to be alive to serve as a steward in this moment in history. I know well that we are navigating some deep and necessary things,’ she wrote in a post.
‘It will make us better. We‘ve been long overdue for a transformative movement in this country, and I’m glad to see it finally happening!’
Busy Philipps, 40, shared her platform with journalist and Brown Girls Dream founder Cari Champion, admitting that she didn’t know her until a couple of days ago.
‘Now I’m in love with her,’ Philipp’s said in a video introducing Champion. ‘She is just an incredible support of women.’
The duo hosted an Instagram Live together, and Champion also talked about the importance of white people being disrupters right now.
‘When you see that next black woman working with you, when you see that black woman in your space at work or at home or wherever you may see her, know she’s very much the same as you are,’ she said. ‘And we need you to be disrupters. We need you to call people out when they’re not being fair.’
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