Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga are having Black leaders take over their Instagram

White celebrities everywhere are doing their part to be allies to the Black Lives Matter movement, contributing money to important organizations and helping to educate the public—and themselves—on how to do better. But Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga are taking the action one step further by amplifying the voices of black leaders on their own social media accounts."I have been struggling to know the right things to say to get the word out about this important moment in history. After thinking about how best to use my social media, I decided that we all need to hear more from Black voices,” Gomez wrote to her 178 million Instagram followers. “Over the next few days I will be highlighting influential leaders and giving them a chance to take over my Instagram so that they can speak directly to all of us. We all have an obligation to do better and we can start by listening with an open heart and mind.”

 

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I have been struggling to know the right things to say to get the word out about this important moment in history. After thinking about how best to use my social media, I decided that we all need to hear more from Black voices. Over the next few days I will be highlighting influential leaders and giving them a chance to take over my Instagram so that they can speak directly to all of us. We all have an obligation to do better and we can start by listening with an open heart and mind. ⠀ ⠀ Image Credit: “Speak With Confidence” — Charly Palmer (@charlylpalmer)

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Jun 4, 2020 at 11:16am PDT

Gomez didn’t announce which leaders would be guest-running her account or precisely when, but fans in the comments seemed to love the idea. “This is amazing, this is what ‘using your platform’ means,” on person wrote. “Love that you are doing this! We will all take away something from listening,” added another. It seems like Lady Gaga was into the idea too, because she announced a takeover plan on her own Instagram account just a few hours later.[video_embed id='1971169']RELATED: Meghan Markle says ‘George Floyd’s life mattered’ in speech to former high school[/video_embed]"Starting tomorrow, I’m giving over my Instagram account to each of the organizations I’ve recently donated to, in an effort to amplify their important voices,” Gaga wrote in a post to her own 42.1 million followers alongside a photo of her peace tattoo. “And after I vow to regularly, in perpetuity, across all of my social media platforms, post stories, content, and otherwise lift up the voices of the countless inspiring members and groups within the Black community."

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Starting tomorrow, I’m giving over my Instagram account to each of the organizations I’ve recently donated to, in an effort to amplify their important voices. And after I vow to regularly, in perpetuity, across all of my social media platforms, post stories, content, and otherwise lift up the voices of the countless inspiring members and groups within the Black community.

A post shared by Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) on Jun 4, 2020 at 4:58pm PDT

Among the organizations that Gaga has publicly donated to in recent weeks are the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Black Lives Matter, Campaign Zero, Marsha P. Johnson Institute, Color of Change, Black Futures Lab, Fair Fight, National Lawyers Guild and Community Justice. Both she and Gomez have been using their social media platforms to highlight these and other organizations that could benefit from donations following George Floyd’s cruel death at the hands of police officers in May, as well as sharing messages of hope and unity.

“I have spent the last 24 hours just trying to process this all,” Gomez previously wrote. “Nothing anyone says can take back what has happened. But we can and must all make sure to take action. Too many black lives have been taken from us for far too long. They deserve better. They deserve to be heard. We all need to do better and not sit in silence as this injustice continues. #blacklivesmatter #justiceforgeorgefloyd #icantbreathe.”

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