Celebrities are handing their platforms over to amplify Black female voices for #ShareTheMicNow campaign

Looking for ways to advocate for Black lives? Check out this list of resources by our sister site Lifehacker for ways to get involved.

The protests sparked by the killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, among countless others, have only just begun to inspire change. While the police involved in the killing of Floyd had their charges upgraded, and Minneapolis has vowed to disband its police force, these are drops in a much larger bucket; in order for us to effect real change, the work must continue. For white allies, part of that work requires the amplification of Black voices—and that’s the idea at the heart of the new #ShareTheMicNow campaign, in which white actresses, celebrities, and activists are literally handing their Instagram platforms (and sizable followings) over to Black women in an effort to raise their voices and promote intersectional activism. On Wednesday, June 10, over 40 Black women—including Angelica Ross and Tarana Burke—will take over the Instagram accounts of white celebrities like Julia Roberts and super model Ashley Graham, to highlight “Black women and the important work they’re doing in order to catalyze the change that will only come when we truly hear each other’s voices.”

Bozoma Saint John, the Chief Marketing Officer at Endeavor, organized the event alongside alice + olivia founder Stacey Bendet, and authors Glennon Doyle and Luvvie Ajayi Jones. “When the world listens to women, it listens to white women,” reads the #ShareTheMicNow mission statement obtained by Deadline. “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. 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.” Below is a list of the Black women participating in the event, which aims to encourage “Black and white women in relationship to recreate this action in their own spaces”—an alliance that must continue and transcend social media if we hope to effect lasting change.

1. Alencia Johnson

2. Alexa Idama

3. Angelica Ross

4. Austin Channing Brown

5. Bozoma Saint John

6. Brittney Cooper