Are you Invited?

Brianna Myers

You know that feeling of being part of something that nobody else truly understands? Something binds you and the others in a special way that maybe you couldn’t even understand. You have your own language. Your own jokes. Your own rules. I’m talking about Black Twitter and if you have no idea what I’m talking about…. That’s your loss.

Black Twitter is a separate section of Twitter known for making ordinary people go viral and creating hashtags that have set the agenda of what is talked about in news. The community of Black Twitter has the ability to roast someone into oblivion or to call out people on the injustices done to our community. Hashtags created vary from #SelfieOlypics to #BlackLivesMatter.

Black Twitter is like the family that you never knew that you had but somehow you know everything about them. Hashtags like #ThanksgivingWithBlackFamilies showed that no matter where you were from, some things are just universal when it comes to Black Culture. The Auntie that is always getting a divorce. The way you throw away the food when you don’t like it. The cousins that always come back from a “store run” with red eyes and smelling like air freshener.

Not only does this subculture of Twitter know how to make your stomach hurt with laugher but when issues affecting the Black community need to be spoken about, they make sure of it. It’s a way of saying “We know this is wrong, and we aren’t going to let them get away with it.” Without Black Twitter, there would be no call to action to look into policing nationwide. Stories like Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and Sandra Bland would not have gotten the attention they deserved without the power of Black Twitter. Protests and rallies were able to be organized on Twitter and with the vast expansion of this community were able to be recognized and talked about.

It’s amazing that there is a place where young and old black people can come together and actively talk about what is going on. Not saying that you need a formal invitation to participate but watch out if you choose to... it can get ruthless.