THE 10k summer challenge has taken off on TikTok to uplift the voices of indigenous peoples and people of color.
The challenge kicked off in June 2022 and will continue through September.
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What is the 10k summer break challenge?
TikTok creators are working together on the 10k summer break challenge to provide a platform for people of color and indigenous peoples to be heard.
The challenge requires White content creators to take a break from TikTok for two months, requiring them to not post any content until September 22, 2022.
TikTok creators have rallied around minorities and many have agreed to sign off for two months in solidarity.
However, some TikTok users have announced they will not be stepping off the platform for reasons such as keeping their content alive and for mental health reasons.
Although they posted videos that they will not be signing off the platform for two months, some users have said they will be amplifying other users’ voices by reposting their TikTok videos.
“I have spent my academic career uplifting marginalized voices, and when several of my friends came to me with the 10k summer challenge where I can use my platform to do just that, so I said ‘yes,'” TikTok creator Tyler Wrynn said in his video on June 25.
Wrynn has accumulated over 59.9k followers on TikTok and will be using his platform in support of the challenge.
He continued, saying, “So, for the rest of the summer, I will be on sabbatical. I will still be active. I will still be making content. But all of that content will be dueting POC creators.”
He concluded, “I will see you in the fall. I love you three thousand.”
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Why did the 10k summer break challenge start?
The 10k summer break TikTok challenge started when content creator Tory Bae posted a video asking White TikTok users to abstain from posting anything on the platform for two months.
In the video, which has received 13.5k likes, Bae challenges White people to leave the platform and raise the voices of minorities.
“If you are a white liberal or consider yourself to be a white ally, I have a challenge for you,” she said.
“Don’t create any more content on TikTok until September 22nd. Honestly, you deserve a break because every day is a White person’s day and you all must be exhausted.
“So while you sit back, listen, relax, and truly decenter yourself, black indigenous and other people of color, we got it from here.”
Bae started the challenge following a strike in 2021 by Black content creators, who announced they would not be posting dance videos or new content and would be going on strike until they received recognition.
Erick Louis, a black TikTok creator who helped organize the strike, told the Washington Post, “Even in the spaces we’ve managed to create for ourselves, [non-black] people violently infiltrate and occupy these spaces with no respect to the architects who built it.”
He added, “This app would be nothing without [black] people.”
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What have users said about the 10k summer challenge?
Content creators who have chosen not to take a break from TikTok are using the two months to repost videos in support of indigenous peoples and people of color.
Bae’s post has received mass support from users, and while some say they simply don’t understand the challenge or agree with it, many have said they will rally around her request.
“With so many terribly serious issues at stake right now, I think all leftist voices need to speak up. Louder than ever,” one user commented.
Another user who goes by @everydayjewishmom, with 19.2k followers, posted a video in support of the challenge and said, “I’ll tell you why I love this. Because as someone who follows POC and indigenous creators, if my followers are not, y’all are missing out.
“You’re just missing out.”
She added, “Is this why people are scared to do this challenge? Because all your followers are going to realize your content’s not actually that good and that the good content is the stuff that hasn’t been popping up on your FYP?
“So, to all of my POC and indigenous creators, my platform is yours.”
