DUBAI: The murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer has resulted in a wave of anti-racism protests across the globe. The momentum has also reached the Gulf, with many regional celebrities and influencers using their platforms to uplift the local Black community during these harrowing times.
Kuwaiti-American influencer Ascia Al-Faraj has decided to support Black-Arab men and women by using her Instagram account – which boasts 2.7 million followers – to actively amplify their voices.
Until June 18, she is offering over her platform to the Black-Arab community, whose voices and experiences have too often been silenced.
The thoughtful initiative, which began on June 11, has so far seen Bahraini influencer Maryam and Saudi-born and Sudan-raised designer Amna Hamdto take over Al-Faraj’s Instagram Stories and feed. Other guests set to be featured include Kuwaiti Netflix actress Colette Dalal Tchantcho.
“For the week of June 11 to June 18 my account will be taken over by Black Arab content creators to discuss important issues on race and discrimination in the Middle East,” wrote Al-Faraj on Instagram. “You’ll also get to see their work and projects! They will be here in Stories. They will be on my feed. And each will have a highlight if you miss their Stories,” she added.
The mother-of-two has been pretty vocal about the racial injustice disproportionately affecting African-Americans, using her platform to denounce systemic racism.
Days after Floyd’s death, the influencer took to Instagram to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, writing “It’s our duty not to be silent allies – we cannot be complicit in the suffering of fellow human beings,” alongside a black-and-white photo of a 15 year old Elizabeth Eckford who was one of the first of a group of Black students to attend an integrated school in 1957.
“It’s time to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and unlearn all the micro-aggressions we perform too flippantly, the ways we belittle people in the words we choose and admit to the things we stood idly by for. This uprise needs to be the pivotal changing point for Black lives,” she added.
