One person’s bubble can be another person’s safe space. A place where you don’t have to pretend and where you can feel supported, and understood. For many black Americans, that place is Twitter. In fact, 40% of young black Americans use Twitter — compared to just 28% of young white Americans. University of Virginia Media Studies professor Meredith Clark gave Charles Monroe-Kane a primer on what makes Black Twitter such a unique part of the online space.
Twitter is often a place for pithy, rapid-fire joke-telling, and Black Twitter has that with a harsh dash of truth.
when ur texting someone and they don't stay in their skin tone emoji lane pic.twitter.com/kLEX5JZ1Fg
— mia (@MiaMiaMiaKhan) November 22, 2016
"All lives matt—" pic.twitter.com/fchypRVXUJ
— Heben Nigatu (@heavenrants) July 7, 2016
No better summation of being black in America. At the highest level having to be gracious to white people who do nothing but disrespect you. pic.twitter.com/BackyEreMw
— Travon Free (@Travon) November 10, 2016
Those moments of comedy bind the community together and make it a fertile space for online social movements.
#iftheygunnedmedown which picture would they use? pic.twitter.com/YgSAUC1R8u
— Caption Crunch (@CapriSun_Rell) August 10, 2014
#YouOKSis? A simple question can offer tons of support pic.twitter.com/KyhByezRKF
— B.I.E. Felicia (@FeministaJones) July 8, 2014
What I know: w/o #Ferguson movements & #BlackLivesMatter, the #WalterScott story would not have been the lead story on the @nytimes homepage
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) April 8, 2015