Software
The iOS keyboard now indicates the Black Fist emoji if you type 'Black Lives Matter' or 'BLM'
The iOS keyboard will immediately recommend all three Black Fist emojis when you type the phrase "Black Lives Matter" or the acronym "BLM" while you're on Apple's recently updated iOS 13.6 software upgrade or the latest iOS 14 beta. The app was discovered last week by a user on Reddit in the beta of iOS 13.6.
Emoji, officially known as the "Raised Fist" Emoji, has gradually been a sign of unity for people rallying against social injustice and police violence following George Floyd's passing. For example, the use of medium-blue and dark skin Raised Fist emoji grew significantly on Twitter at the end of May and June, according to an Emojipedia report.
And Raised Fist and all six of its available skin color options were the most commonly used emoji in a survey of 278,244 tweets sent on June 4 and 5 that included "Black Lives Matter" and "BLM" as hashtags or as text, Emojipedia stated.
It's possible the Apple has also seen expanded use. By immediately promoting Raised Fist, people would be able to use emoji more conveniently in messages and social media articles on the Black Lives Matter campaign without having to find and scan the emoji keys separately.
Apple has also moved outside software to promote racial equality, including announcing the $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative on June 11. And on Thursday, Apple revealed that it has extended its relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities to include coding resources for education in local cities.
