#RVAMICSHARE: Our time has come: Why it is important to amplify the voices of Black women in 2020
What Was the Goal of the #RVAMICSharecNow Campaign?
The objective for the #RVAMICSharecNow is clear: continue to magnify the voices of Black women and the significant work they’re doing to effect change. In addition, the objective was to digest the lived experiences of Black women in America today. We go through challenges and barriers that are unique to just Black women.
History has demonstrated for us when the world listens to women, it listens to white women. The question is why. This reality is just the question that sparked the vision of Amanda Carriker Moore, the heart behind RVAMICSHARE. A regional initiative that paired 30 African-American women with 30 White women to amplify the voices of African-American women by way of taking over the White female participants social media outlets such as Facebook and Instagram June 29-July 3. Amanda was inspired by the creation of the #ShareTheMicNow campaign. The initiative, which centers on Black women speaking from the social media accounts of White women with large followings in order to share their stories and help foster conversations about racial justice and racial inequality. The point of this initiative, was to hear and listen to the voices of African-American women and change the behaviors that negatively impact us as Black women and the way we are treated in the workplace, that lack of support we receive with our businesses, the lack of support we receive as nonprofit builders and just Black women in general. Our skin tone, our natural hair styles, our confident voices and lived experiences are not to be taken as a threat and not to be taken lightly. We are valuable to society and our communities and we are worthy of this time to speak our truth! Stand with us as we take this walk to talk about the talk that must be talked about so we can destroy the need to have the talk.
How can you remain engaged with the 60 dynamic Black and White women who participated in RVAMICSHARE? Head over to the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/RVAmicshare) to find the allies involved and see what content has been shared by the respective women taking over their pages both on Facebook and Instagram. You can also follow along with all posts by perusing through the #RVAMICSHARE hashtag. Open your mind as you read, absorb, reflect on, the voices of Black women who have told their stories of racism, gender inequality, and spark conversation about their lived experiences and spread their stories. And if you are truly inspired by demonstrating change and providing support to the African-American women participants, after reading their stories, share their testimonies, donate to their nonprofits, and speak up about the systems that are against Black women by having the talk about the talk that must be talked about so we can destroy the need to have the talk.
Shonda Matia Harris-Muhammed
LMR Class of 2011
Founder and Executive Director, Northside Coalition for Children, Inc.