The organisation is launching a new initiative called “Speak Up Thursday” which is a “day of conversation around the issue of racism and the role music can play in tackling it.” The campaign has kicked off today and is encouraging artists and fans to use the hashtag #speakupthursday in order to “make a pledge on social media to speak up against racism wherever and whenever they encounter it.”
According to NME, artists that are going to join the initiative are Drillminister, Logic, Lloyd Luther, Morgan Connie Smith, Dimzy (67 Crew), whenyoung, Soho Radio, KAWALA, Rika and Sophie and the Giants.
Today is #speakupthursday a day for artists, fans and the music industry to use their platforms to tackle racism. Visit https://t.co/K0aERZrlub for graphics to post or on FB/IG select a pledge from our story #blm #georgefloyd #music #pledge #conversation #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/ChNKRd3JkH
— LoveMusic HateRacism (@lmhrnational) June 11, 2020
Love Music Hate Racism has posted some helpful information on their website to let people know what they can do to help. They have created a dropbox file with different pledges so everyone can use the “pledge generator”, as they call it, to post on their Instagram story. There’s also a different “love music hate racism” graphic that has been created to post on the feed. But there’s more you can do than just sharing screenshots: The organisation is encouraging people to post their own videos speaking up about racism, using the hashtag, or even hosting a conversation on your own social media account, for example in a live stream, to raise awareness for the campaign and the issue.
Some artists have been participating in the campaign by creating playlists with songs that made them think of the Love Music Hate Racism aid, speaking about topics such as injustice, pride or the human conditions. To listen to the playlists that were created by artists like IDLES, Joy Crookes or Kojey Radical, head over to the official Love Music Hate Racism Spotify account.
But the musicians aren’t the only ambassadors: Various music venues across the UK are helping with the aid. Some of the venues mentioned include London’s Electric Ballroom, Factory251 in Manchester and The Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh.
