Shavone Charles has been tapped by TikTok as the head of diversity and inclusion communications for the social media platform. Charles is the founder of Future of Creatives and Magic In Her Melanin, which is focused on amplifying women of color and other underrepresented creators.
Based in Los Angeles, Charles joins the fast-growing social media platform this week to take up her new role, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Charles had previously served as the director of communications and creative partnerships at VSCO, where she launched the #BlackJoyMatters campaign, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“If you know me, you know just how dedicated I am to championing and elevating diverse voices. Throughout every step of my career, it has been my personal mission to create more access and equity for people of color and underrepresented creators. As a Black creator and advocate myself, I am beyond thrilled to join the TikTok team and continue my work in fearlessly supporting and amplifying the stories of underrepresented voices,” she said in an Instagram post.
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Charles also oversaw global music and youth culture communications at Instagram before joining VSCO as well as music and culture communications at Twitter, two positions that she created at both companies, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
According to Variety, she was the first Black woman to join both teams at Instagram and Twitter and dedicated her time at the companies to help people of color, including launching Twitter’s first-ever employee resource group for Black staffers employees.
TikTok has in recent days made moves to improve its relationship with Black content creators. This follows widespread criticism by some Black content creators for not getting credit or recognition for their works on the app.
Some Black creators even declared a virtual strike, refusing to post content on the platform until their grievances were addressed.
