After a week of nationwide protests in response to the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, the music industry hit pause on business as usual in support of the protesters and the Black community. On Tuesday, June 2, using the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused, which evolved into #BlackOutTuesday this day was conceived as a way to disrupt business as usual this week: "In response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other Black citizens at the hands of police, #TheShowMustBePaused is an initiative created by two Black women in music in observance of the long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard. We will not continue to conduct business as usual without regard for Black lives." The music industry will not release new music this week, but more importantly, people were urged to post a black photo in solidarity, post only stories or posts that promote the end of racism, refrain from self-promoting posts, and businesses are asked to replace their usual media campaigns with posts about ending racism . Did you participate in Black Out Tuesday?

Unfortunately, the looting and destruction of property has almost overshadowed the peaceful protests being carried out in communities all over the U.S. and Canada. The media is focusing on the looting and unrest, instead of the more peaceful protesters, and many are outraged at the violence and destruction of property. This outrage has further emphasized how very far we have to go to end racism -- the outrage sparked by destruction of property once again upsets some more than the destruction of Black lives, by the police. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Social media users are being asked to post Black photos, with no image, and tag them with the hashtag #blackouttuesday but many are also tagging their posts with the hashtags #BlackLivesMatter and #BLM. The issue is once you click on the blm hashtag you're directed to an overflow of images, instead of focusing on the other more useful content people could look at for information. Some also feel only sharing black screens under the hashtags was "counterproductive and feel we should all amplify black voices WITHOUT silencing the movement." Which of these do you feel could be an issue?

Despite the name 'Black out Tuesday' being attribute to it, this is not just a 24-hour initiative. We should be in this for the long haul, until racism is eradicated. There are positive steps you can do to show your support for the protesters (these are different from the looters, remember) and end racism once and for all. Have you, or will you, do any of these steps?