Nickelodeon Went Off The Air For 8 Minutes And 46 Seconds In Support Of Black Lives Matter

Yesterday, Nickelodeon went off the air for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the same amount of time disgraced Minnesota policeman Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd as he died.

At 6 P.M. ET Monday evening, the kids' entertainment channel posted what it called the "Declaration of Kids Rights." They read:

You have the right to be seen, heard and respected as a citizen of the world.
You have the right to a world that is peaceful.
You have the right to be treated with equality, regardless of the color of your skin.
You have the right to be protected from harm, injustice, and hatred.
You have the right to an education that prepares you to run the world.
You have the right to your opinions and feelings, even if others don't agree with them.

On Twitter, they shared the message with the hashtag Black Lives Matter.

we are all part of the change #blacklivesmatter
✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻 pic.twitter.com/Y3Fzvob54X

— Nickelodeon (@Nickelodeon) June 1, 2020

Nickelodeon, along with other Viacom-owned networks MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and TV Land, aired also aired an 8-minute and 46-second spot featuring the sound of breathing as the words "I can't breathe" flashed on screen, a provocative ad echoing Floyd's last words.

The ad stunned viewers, who felt it was a positive step towards initiating uncomfortable conversations between parents and children about race in America.

Nickelodeon.

Growing up, they were pivotal in mine, and a whole generations development as children and adolescents.

In 2020, they have proven that they aren't afraid to side publicly what is right.

This video played on all of their channels for 8 minutes and 47 seconds.

Wow. pic.twitter.com/xZEmHUhVHc

— Upmind! (@Upmind_) June 2, 2020

People griping at Nickelodeon for the "I Can't Breathe" spot. Claiming that it's "not the right platform" & that it is scaring their children

It should scare your children.

If they learn of injustice from a cable network instead of their parents then that's on the parents.

— Patrick Scott Patterson (@OriginalPSP) June 2, 2020

nickelodeon said “you WILL talk to your child about racism whether you like it or not” https://t.co/vBoXCVrfST

— majka (@mjkaw) June 2, 2020

Nickelodeon played this for 8min and 46sec. Those of you saying this scared your children are wrong. There’s far scarier things on TV (e.g., the news). Your problem with this is the fact that your kids are now asking questions you don’t want/know to answer pic.twitter.com/1gyUXPqQYT

— El Crís (@NoSoyCristian) June 2, 2020

Many of the tweets praising Nickelodeon indicate there are a swath of white parents angry at the channel for the spot, but little evidence of that can be found on Twitter or on Nickelodeon's Facebook page. There, parents are praising Nickelodeon and relating stories about the conversations they had with their kids about the spot, what caused it, and police brutality in America.

However, on a lighter note, the idea of a swath of outraged parents and scared kids did lead one user to remember that truly no kids' show will ever be as scary as Courage the Cowardly Dog.

Them kids scared of that Nickelodeon ad never seen this nigga pic.twitter.com/FfqiGgyklg

— – (@BlackBishop187) June 2, 2020