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A new social media campaign focused on magnifying black women’s voices is launching Wednesday.
Actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow, soccer star Megan Rapinoe and a number of other white celebrities will be handing over their Instagram accounts for the day to prominent black women, including Teen Vogue editor Lindsay Peoples Wagner and Endeavor chief marketing officer Bozoma Saint John, for #sharethemicnow.
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The social media campaign intends to shine a light on the work these women are doing in order to catalyze the change “that will only come when we truly hear each other’s voices.”
Saint John, one of the founders of the campaign — who has held a number of senior positions at leading tech firms, including chief brand officer at Uber and head of global consumer marketing at Apple Music and iTunes — explained how her voice has often been muted in society despite her success in the business world.
“I used to say, I am woman, hear me roar. But as a black woman who has roared in America’s corporate hallways and boardrooms, my voice is often muted by a society [that] has not placed much value on its timber,” she said. “But today is a new day! In unison with black women across the country, partnering with white women, we’re changing our tune: I am woman, hear me uproar.”
For her part, Saint John will take over “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star Kourtney Kardashian’s account. Peoples Wagner will take over designer Diane von Furstenberg’s account; community organizer and Black Lives Matter cofounder Opal Tometi will take over model Ashley Graham’s account; and editor and influencer Kahlana Barfield Brown will take over actress Julia Roberts’ account;
Elsewhere, Mama Glow founder Latham Thomas will be filling in for Paltrow on her account; fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad for Rapinoe; former Teen Vogue editor Elaine Welteroth for actress Michelle Monaghan and GQ’s deputy fashion director Nikki Ogunnaike for Thrive Global ceo Arianna Huffington.
According to the campaign, whose other founders include author Glennon Doyle, author Luvvie Ajayi Jones and Alice + Olivia chief executive officer Stacey Bendet Eisner, the 46 white women involved have a combined social media presence of 300 million.
#Sharethemicnow comes on the heels of several recent social media campaigns geared at achieving racial equality in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. That includes #pulluporshutup, the brainchild of Uoma Beauty founder and ceo Sharon Chuter. The goal of that grassroots campaign is to raise awareness of the lack of black employees at American corporations.