We hacked Facebook’s existing “safety check” functionality to create a simple and provocative social web app called the “Unsafety Check”. Black people could mark themselves unsafe, to declare how they feel. And by sharing the issues of Black Lives Matter with family, friends and all of their followers, it makes the message personal.

The social web app launched as part of Black Lives Matters’ week of action, which encouraged supporters of racial equality to get involved in daily activist-oriented tasks between Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Trump’s Inauguration.

- Designed for mobile first.

- Our development team utilized the Facebook and Twitter API.

- To intelligently utilize their functionality, collect user data, and control the messaging.

- Controlling the message was important to Black Lives Matter, to prevent messages of hatred and racism, which they experience all the time.

- Social media users of all colors could also share a post to show their solidarity.

- We also gave users the opportunity to anonymously share personal and important stories of when they felt unsafe. Which helped us create social content.

- Driving traffic back to the Black Lives Matter website where people could learn how they can take action.

In the first week alone, and with no paid support the web app achieved:

- Over 40K unique visitors.

- Over 20M media impressions.

- Including the participation of celebrities Russell Simmons (co-founder of Def Jam, CEO of Rush Communications), Taleb Kweli (hip-hop recording artist, entrepreneur, social activist), Janet Mock (writer, TV host, transgender rights activist, author of New York Times bestseller Redefining Realness, and contributing editor for Marie Claire) and Eric Haywood (screenwriter of Empire, Private Practice, Soul Food, Relative Stranger and director of Four Hearts).

- Mainstream media coverage:

- “A form of protest.” - Newsone

- “Black Lives Matter protesters played a key role in the wake of President Trump’s immigration ban, helping to mobilize against the executive order.”- Fast Company

- “A poignant twist on the Safety Check” – Bustle

- “Symbolizes the general sense of fear plaguing Black Americans.”- Huffington Post

Facebook has rolled out the “Safety Check” which lets people declare themselves safe in national emergencies. But we wanted to build awareness of how unsafe Black Americans feel. So we built a mobile-first social media platform to engage their followers, plus millennials in general, motivating them to stay involved and take action against racism in America. So Black Lives Matter could connect not only on the front lines, but online as well.

Leveraging Facebook because:

- Millennials engage with social causes most often through Facebook (87%) and Twitter (54%).

- Shares, likes, check-ins have been continually used as symbolic acts of speech with the hope of spreading consciousness and constructing an image of oneself as an activist.

- 85% of millennials in the U.S. own smartphones and the bulk of their “online time” is via their phones.

The Washington Post declared “Black America is in a state of emergency.” Black people are being harassed, beaten and killed while doing everyday activities such as walking to school, sitting in a car or even when calling for help. In a year when hate crimes rose as high as 35% percent and the election of the most controversial President in American history. Black Lives Matter needed a way to raise awareness and foster empathy in all Americans – Black, White and everything in between.