“On #BlackoutTuesday, artists go quiet to focus attention on protesters’ message” read the headline. Millions of people worldwide are heeding a call for a day of silence on social media to amplify black people’s voices under the hashtag #BlackoutTuesday. Maybe every Tuesday should be #BlackoutTuesday for a while? Leave it to the artists to do something simple, clear, and immediate. Always. Always it’s the artists who lead us. If only we could remember that, and look to them instead of the political arena for leadership.

#BlackTuesday #BlackLivesMatter #BlackTuesday #BlackLivesMatter

“In Louisville, Ky., a confrontation on a crowded street was partly defused when a woman stepped forward and offered a police officer in riot gear a hug. They embraced for nearly a minute. There were reports of clashes later in the night, however, and a local news outlet reported that at least one person had been fatally shot.” A hug. After demonstrating peacefully for three hours in Seattle, police officers opened the downtown area to protesters. “Rashyla Levitt addressed the crowd through a megaphone, telling them the group had made history. “We marched for justice. We marched for peace,” she said. “We marched for each other. We marched for our streets.” For justice. For peace. For each other. For our streets. Also in Seattle, “Others weren’t ready to end the night. They approached a line of officers in riot gear, shouting and cursing. Some protesters—including Elijah Alter, 24—rushed to intervene, pushing them away from the line of officers. ‘Because of our solidarity, we made them change their mind,’ he said. ‘Do not ruin it on a violent end.’” Intervention. Solidarity. Change their mind. From Atlanta, “The demonstrators stopped—hundreds of them, black and white—and sat. A self-appointed leader among them, an entrepreneur named John Wade, praised them for their nonviolence.” Sat.