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VSCO Aims To Document Black Joy With New Campaign

This article is more than 3 years old.

Recent initiatives such as #BlackOutTuesday and the Pull Up Or Shut Up challenge have been popularized by companies intent on participating in the timely conversations centered on social injustice. But are these efforts just lip service? That’s the big, lingering question Black consumers have been asking themselves of late. 

VSCO doesn’t want to be associated with that uncertainty. Through its new campaign, #BlackJoyMatters, the photo editing and sharing platform wants to join the fight for justice while highlighting the successes and bright spots in Black communities. 

The summer-long initiative will encourage users to use the #BlackJoyMatters hashtag when submitting content, including first-person videos, photos and original art, that demonstrates Black triumph at a time when Black plight has been front and center. Select submissions will be featured in a virtual exhibit on VSCO’s app, and a series of Instagram Live conversations and profiles will amplify the campaign’s message.

“Black creatives are on the frontlines, and I’m seeing the fatigue that we get from the trauma we're experiencing,” says Shavone Charles, director of communications and creative partnerships at VSCO, who spearheaded the project. “#BlackJoyMatters is the epitome of saying Black people don't just deserve to be alive. We deserve to be happy. We deserve to thrive. We deserve to have our stories told through a lens that isn't just focused on this long narrative of the trauma that we go through.”

The 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree pitched the idea to VSCO after working at the company for just seven months. “I'm grateful to be at a place where they’re receptive and I'm able to drive impact during a time that’s so pivotal for Black people to be protected and seen and represented,” she says. 

But this isn’t Charles’ first rodeo. As Instagram's first music and youth culture hire, she started the company’s first-ever Black History Month program in 2018 and launched multiple partnerships including the #CelebrateBlackCreatives program and #BlackGirlMagic collaboration with Spotify. And prior to Charles’ arrival, VSCO had been encouraging  inclusive content through its Reflections on #Melanin and To Be Punk And Black collections. 

That pre-existing foundation at VSCO, coupled with Charles’ experience at other tech companies, helped her get #BlackJoyMatters off the ground swiftly. 

While all are welcome to participate in the campaign, VSCO’s audience comprises predominantly Gen Z-ers—the under 25 demographic that’s been playing an active role in spurring the Black Lives Matter movement. “There's been a number of stories told about the next-gen Black teen activists who are really applying pressure,” Charles says. 

Her hope is that the #BlackJoyMatters campaign picks up steam with these young trailblazers and future thought leaders. If VSCO’s efforts are successful, “I think it's going to be powerful,” she says.

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