When Black Twitter burst onto the scene in the early 2000s, it took the internet by storm. Not everyone was quite prepared for how impactful - and hilarious - they’d be. If you aren’t aware, Black Twitter is not a standalone app. Nor is it one specific account. It is a social media movement. And a powerful one at that...
“It represents the collection of content from Black creators on Twitter,” explains philanthropist, business leader and investor Robert Smith on his site. “Black Twitter celebrates Black voices coming together on the platform to share their experiences. Their posts may include humorous memes, their thoughts on Black culture or important topics like racial equity.”
When they’re not being funny as hell, the members of Black Twitter are working hard and fast to bring about change. They’ve used hashtags to drum up support and awareness. They've fought social inequality, racism, and more.
Their online campaigns have led to protests that have drawn attention, made a major impact and changed lives. Think #BlackLivesMatter, #GeorgeFloyd, #BreonnaTaylor, #Black and #ICantBreathe.
Black Twitter somehow even manages to bring humor into situations that are less than funny. I think we can all agree that slavery was no laughing matter. But in 2018, the guys and gals on Black Twitter got the topic trending in a rather hilarious way, with a series of sharp and witty tweets relating to slavery.
Using the hashtag #TweetLikeThe1600s, nothing was off-limits as Black Twitter poked fun at a time where their ancestors were treated like dirt. This generation jumped on the wagon, making jokes about anything from running away from s***e plantations to the illiteracy of enslaved African Americans.
“When you try to escape on one of Massa horses but the horse is racist too #TweetLikeThe1600s” was retweeted more than 15,000 times. The tweet was accompanied by a video of a white woman riding a horse that suddenly flips back, throwing her on the ground and crushing her under its back.
Another reads, “When you & the squad finally escape from the plantation #Tweetlikethe1600s #tweetlikethe1600s.” As the paper states, it included a video of a group of Black teenagers “energetically dancing in a parking lot, one with a stereo held above his head.”
#Tweetlikethe1600s does not make light of this past, notes the paper, but rather, it laughs in the face of it, taking power away from the oppressor. "It deals with any anger and grief about slavery via the creative capabilities of Twitter. Each user, tweet, comment, retweet, and like coalesce to a comedic gesture that aligns with Black humor more broadly."
