Key Takeaways
- The #BlackoutForNolan campaign asks supporters to change their profile pictures and share Nolan Wells’ name and image.
- Viola Davis, Tabitha Brown, Ms. Rachel and other public figures have amplified the remembrance campaign online.
- The campaign follows a grand jury’s decision not to pursue criminal charges as Wells’ family and attorney Ben Crump continue seeking answers.
Nolan Wells’ name is taking over social media — and that’s exactly the point.
On Wednesday (Sept. 30), supporters of student-athlete Nolan Wells, who was 18 when he died this summer, began participating in “Blackout for Nolan Wells,” an online campaign centered on remembrance, solidarity and keeping his story in the public eye. The campaign calls on people to “go BLACK” for Wells by changing their profile pictures, sharing his name and letting his face fill their timelines. The flyer also encourages using #BlackoutForNolan, #NolanWells, and #SayHisName.
“This blackout is not silence. It is remembrance. It is solidarity,” the campaign message reads. “It is a community standing together and saying that Nolan Wells will not simply become another name we scroll past and forget.”
The call has reached some familiar faces. Viola Davis, Tabitha Brown, Toya Johnson, Wanda Sykes, MC Lyte, Jhené Aiko, Ben Crump and children’s educator Ms. Rachel are among those who have shared the campaign and changed their Instagram profile pictures in support. Ms. Rachel urged her followers to join in, writing, “This is today!! Please participate. Justice for Nolan Wells!”
Why Nolan Wells’ family is still seeking answers
The social media push arrives just over a week after a Mississippi grand jury declined to pursue criminal charges in Wells’ death. District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath announced Sept. 21 that jurors returned a "no true bill," finding insufficient evidence to indict anyone, and maintained there was no evidence that his death was racially motivated.
The Ocean Springs native disappeared July 4 after traveling to Horn Island with friends. His body was recovered two days later. The Ocean Springs High School graduate played wide receiver at Southwest Mississippi Community College, where he studied general business. Beyond football, those closest to him remembered a young man deeply connected to his family, faith and community.
His family and Crump, however, have continued questioning the circumstances surrounding his death. Days after the grand jury decision, Crump pointed to an autopsy report that he said documented head injuries and showed no water in Wells’ lungs or airways. The report listed the cause and manner of death as undetermined. “We don’t know how Nolan died, and neither does the State of Mississippi. Mississippi must keep investigating,” the civil rights attorney previously expressed.
Now, supporters are taking that determination online. Whatever comes next in the Wells family’s pursuit of answers, Wednesday’s blackout carries a straightforward message: They don’t want Nolan Wells to be forgotten.