Meta

Below is a small sample of the work we created. These videos appeared on Meta’s IG page. Underneath you’ll find the story I wrote which appeared as a caption.

Caption/Story: To understand someone, they say walk a mile in their shoes. February 1st, Nazma K. asks you to wear a hijab instead. She’s celebrating the 10th annual @worldhijabday, the non-profit she created with a Facebook Page that has grown into a global cause for awareness, inclusivity and empathy.
Wearing a hijab is Nazma’s choice. It’s part of how she represents her faith. For that she was bullied by classmates, teachers and potential employers. But Nazma was not to be put down. She turned to Facebook because “I refused to be a victim. I would not let hate stop me from helping others.” On her Page she made a simple request. “I asked people from different backgrounds, faiths and different parts of the world to put on the hijab for a day to understand I am not oppressed. I am liberated.”
Nazma assumed her Facebook Page would only reach friends and family, never expecting how it would resonate.“I realized this is not my story alone. Within a week I had about 8,000 supporters from 65 countries. Nine years later, we are in over 150 countries, including Philippines, which passed a law in Parliament to commemorate February 1st as National Hijab Day.” But Nazma isn’t resting on her laurels. “There is so much work that needs to be done. I want to open my heart and extend my hand. It's like, feel my hijab, put it on. There is nothing to fear about it. One day, I want my little sisters to be able to flaunt their hijab with pride.”

Story/Caption: Verified

Inspired by the boundless energy of the sun, @iambearsun is walking from LA to NYC with little more than the fur on his back. He uses Facebook and Instagram to share his light with his hundreds of thousands of followers, and raise awareness and funds for causes like mental health and the environment.

“He’s supposed to represent the actions that speak louder than words. That’s why he doesn’t have a mouth,” he explains. Missing a mouth also makes Bearsun all the better to listen—something he believes the world could use a lot more of right now. "My primary thing is just to listen. It fuels me to keep going and talk about these issues so people feel like they’re not alone and process what they’re going through.”
Most recently Bearsun’s journey took him through Navajo Nation, where community members came out to support, protect and even provide moccasins for his walk. “That was extremely emotional. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. It’s hard to put into words. I'm not here to save anybody. I can't. I'm just one individual, but I told them, "Dude, as long as I live and I have whatever I have, I see you. I acknowledge what you have to go through.”
Sharing his journey on Facebook and Instagram has stretched his ear far and wide. In his posts and Live sessions, he welcomes his followers to unburden what’s on their minds. “Sometimes I do Live sessions and I’m just answering questions. It’s easier to listen to more people. And the power of letting someone share their opinion on your post is amazing, right? Being able to comment and share and letting other people see it, it’s what drives us to feel more connected.”
Ultimately he hopes his journey motivates his followers to take their own positive actions. “Hopefully they’ll think, ‘Watching you do this makes me think about the things I haven't been doing, so I'm gonna start now.’”

Story/Caption: Verified

If you caught any of New York’s recent Fashion Week, the runway might seem more inclusive than ever. But when it comes to adaptive fashion, designer and @rebirthgarments founder Sky C. (They/Them) still believes the industry has a long way to go. “I thought things would be further along by now. I have seen some improvements and more clothing lines having adaptive lines, but they aren’t consulting the disabled community.”

Identifying as “queer, disabled, and neurodivergent,” Sky sews the change they seek. Rebirth Garments is their own line of gender non-conforming wearables offering “Radical Visibility” to LGBTQ+ and disabled people in colors and patterns too joyful to ignore.

Even the classic runway didn’t escape Sky’s eye for reinvention. In performances more fireworks than fashion show, Sky introduces new lines through interactive dance parties that celebrate the bodies mainstream fashion often overlooks. Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp serve as their casting couch to find “Queer, trans intersex, disabled, mentally ill, plus size, POC models,” and key to coordinating over 60 performances so far. “I get my models from social media. I make them outfits. We go out and dance as hard as we want. I always go out first so that I can do support on stage if any of the models get scared or nervous unless I'm not there, like in Hong Kong.”

When recent COVID-19 restrictions kept Sky from travelling to Hong Kong, WhatsApp helped Sky pull off the performance from their home in Chicago. “It was the first show where I haven’t gone in person because of COVID. We used WhatsApp to do the organizing. Then I did video interviews with them and I just mailed the garments and they were able to put on the show just with my direction.”

Neither a half-world’s distance, pandemic, nor the dictates of mainstream fashion can stop Sky from showing up for their community. “When they're wearing my clothes or reading my zine or looking at my Instagram or Facebook posts, I want them to feel seen. Cared for. To feel cute in my clothing and comfortable and sexy in their own bodies, not for anybody else but themselves."

Story/Caption: We believe art can inspire action. That’s why @facebookopenarts and nonprofit @amplifierart are working with local artists in 12 cities across the US and Canada to inspire vaccination community by community.
“Art has the ability to change minds,” says artist Katie C. “I want the viewer to understand what was taken away when we didn’t have a vaccine. Seeing someone smile, shaking a hand or getting a hug. I wanted joy in it. To be approachable and inviting. To remind people what we’re missing so we can get back to living life.”
Public art brings a community together, as artists relate to their neighbors with emotion and humanity. By meeting people quite literally right where they are, the artists are able to elevate personal experiences into pieces made to move viewers to take an action with the power to bring us all #TogetherAgain.
"This art asks us to consider our urgent responsibility to one another and imagine the repercussions of our choices that land beyond our individual bodies. At the center of everything our connection to each other,” added artist Rue O. Community member Denis P. agrees. “It beautifies the community. It brings in people for participation, and it's a banner for information to spread the importance of what's going on in the community.”
To learn more and find your local vaccination center to protect yourself and your community, head to our COVID-19 Information Center. Link in bio.

Story/Caption: Every third Saturday of the month, an East LA market is making representation their business. Created by Diana D. (@mexichiccrafts), Gaudencio M. (@casadelarquez), and Ryan M. (@iamryanmontez), @thequeermercado is a supportive vendor community creating economic opportunity and increased visibility for underrepresented entrepreneurs.

“When we started to connect around The Queer Mercado, one of the visions was to create a community that uplifted each other that celebrated the queer and the Latinx community and organically, it's starting to create all these intersections of all of our communities. As queer community members, we intersect in so many different ways with gender, sexuality, race. It's beautiful to see the intersections that are coming in."

Gaudencio adds, “Instagram has been a powerful platform to create this level of community. Diana and I were not running in the same circles but we had similar interests. We connected and all the sudden we’re best friends and creating these intersections of gender, sexuality, race. Creating economic opportunities, supporting and uplifting each other.”

As the founders continued employing Instagram to discover and secure new vendors for their market, they saw too much magic to contain in a single Saturday each month. Instagram Live felt like the natural place to broadcast Queer Magic Wednesdays, a weekly show where Gaudencio interviews vendors and introduces a new face of small business ownership. “It’s been beautiful to see what motivates each individual.”

Increased visibility adds up to more opportunity. Ryan says, “We’ve had people come and say, “We saw it on Facebook and Instagram. We wanted to come check it out because I make candles, or I do this. They want to do it, but they’re afraid.” Diana adds, “Our message to them is always, ‘Hey, we're going to uplift you.’ The more visible we are, the more we cross promote, the more beautiful brands we’re going to empower.”

Story/Caption: He has the poise of a champion swimmer perched on a starting block before a race. Perhaps it’s from the years Schuyler B. spent as the first transgender NCAA Division 1 men’s athlete. Or because being @pinkmantaray — one of the most trusted trans voices on Instagram — demands unwavering balance under pressure, especially considering more anti-trans bills have been written this year than ever before. What’s certain is the passion that once propelled him through the water now compels his activism, where he uses his Facebook and Instagram accounts to distill complex topics into digestible posts to educate and fight for transgender rights. “What's funny is that I love to tell as many details as possible,” Schuyler explains. “But nobody wants to read a book report. So how can I give the littlest amount of information that says the most?”

Knowing what’s at stake, he’s careful to represent voices across the spectrum, “Especially folks who are the most marginalized.” With care and athletic persistence, Schuyler cultivates a global social space he defines with three words: Connection, resiliency and joy. “That we are able to experience joy in this world, filled with transphobia, a hundred plus anti-trans bills this past year, anti-transgender violence and still somehow, we experience joy. That's the ultimate resiliency.”

Story/Caption: Elizabeth S. has some serious surfing skills, but her savvy doesn’t stop at the shoreline. She turned her passion into a movement to turn surfing into a more body positive, inclusive sport. And she’s doing it all on Instagram. “If I could be successful in sharing this message on Instagram, through the visuals, videos, Reels, and Stories, I knew that the message would get out and be well received.”

She’s not just sharing stories, @curvysurfergirl is building community. “I’ve seen more body types at my home break than ever,” Elizabeth says. “We're getting tagged in photos of women surfing for the first time all over the world. And the joy on their faces, the confidence, strength and freedom is absolutely beautiful.”

One of her goals for this year is to motivate industry changes like inclusive sizing and gear that empowers female surfers. “I’m hoping 2022 is the year we can get some of these ideas off the ground. One of my dreams is to partner with surfboard manufacturers to create a line for our demographics so they can walk into a surf shop and confidently proclaim, I want a Curvy Girl Surfboard.”

Story/Caption: “At the beginning we just thought we're going to go to one place and dance, and then that was going to be it,” says Eugene T., the Navajo fine art photographer behind Art Heals: The @jingledressproject. “It wasn't something that I thought would go all over the world.”

It all started when Eugene lost his Aunt. Then went the gallery showings where @tapahe made most of his living. Like many during the early pandemic, Eugene struggled to see a future with any hope. A dream revealed the way forward. Instagram helped transform his struggle into a beautiful movement we’re celebrating this #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth.

Eugene tells us, “In my dream I could see Jingle Dress dancers coming onto the grass. They started to dance, the bison started dancing with them. I felt like I was healing.” Sharing his vision with his family, Eugene said, “If we heal the land, we'll heal the people during this pandemic." So he recruited his two daughters Dion and Erin T. and friends, sisters Joanni and Sunni B., to represent the four worlds in the origin story of the Navajo people. They danced. He documented. And together they created art that’s spreading healing and spotlighting issues like land reclamation and Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women. “We brought Native issues to the forefront, but we've done it in a beautiful way,” Eugene says. “Through art people are actually listening.”

The project came together at “The Reveal,” – a gallery show featuring their full journey in 16 images that were recently acquired for the permanent collection of the @bhammuseum. But Eugene seems most proud of the lives they’ve touched. “We’re healing people through art. It’s beautiful they can feel it.”