The Black History Month or the African-American History Monaht, an annual observance in the US in the month of February, aims at remembering the important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. As part of the observance and to promote the month, Instagram and Snapchat have launched new features.
Instagram has launched a new #ShareBlackStories promotion where they showcase incredible creators like Tawny Chatmon, Paola ‘Pao Pao’ Mathé and Uzumaki Cepeda, plus short films featuring distinct Black voices, produced by Clarence Hammond and Dougie Cash from Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment, along with Marsha L. Swinton.
Instagram is also launching new creative tools for Stories, including camera effects, stickers and custom templates, all those options designed and conceptualised by black voices at Instagram.
Snapchat, on the other hand, launched a new lens which invites users into a virtual art gallery and showcases the work of black Millennial artists, most of them relatively unknown ones. The whole gallery is accessible by either tapping on a new rainbow-colored Lens in the carousel within the app or by scanning in this Snapcode. When you first open the Lens, you'll see a selfie frame with a Black History Month banner, but flip the camera and you'll be taken into the AR gallery.
This is not the first time Snapchat has sought to boost exposure for artists. In late 2017, Snapchat launched its AR art installation project, which virtually placed large-scale artworks in public places, where users could then view them through the app.
