| February 12, 2020 | Alisia Oliver | reporter |
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Black Twitter is more than just a “slogan” or a social experiment. It’s a movement commonly used to help bring justice for the African American platform.
NE Campus held a presentation called What Is Black Twitter? Feb. 4 to help people become aware of what Black Twitter is truly about.
Baylor University journalism and public relations professor Mia Moody-Ramirez was brought in through the video-chat app Zoom and provided examples of how injustice was still very alive within the African American community.
She then brought up Trayvon Martin, who was murdered Feb. 26, 2012 while on his way home from a nearby gas station after purchasing a pack of Skittles and an Arizona drink. This sparked the iconic hashtag, #blacklivesmatter.
The hashtag became popular due to society being uncaring towards African Americans’ lives.
After #blacklivesmatter, another hashtag became popular, #handsupdontshoot, after the murder of Michael Brown. Brown was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, MO while he had his hands up yelling please don’t shoot. The officer ended up not guilty. African Americans took matters into their own hands at this point, soon after violent riots broke out.
Creating a platform now known as Black Twitter to help bring justice into the African American community. Not only do they tackle injustice within the community, they also embrace beauty and perfection amongst African Americans, which started #blackgirlmagic and #blackboyjoy.
African Americans often use Twitter as a platform because it gives them a voice that they don’t feel like they have.
“Being an African American in today’s society is so terrifying because you never know if you’re going to live another day, whether or not you look suspicious, or if you’ll receive a job offer because your hair is too kinky or if you’ll see your child again when they come home from school,” NE student Christopher Johnson said.
He thought Black Twitter was filled with one-sided opinions, but when he really paid attention to the presentation, he said he saw the bigger picture.
The bigger picture is that Black Twitter isn’t all opinion-based. It’s information provided from an African American perspective that people not of color may not be aware of or have not experienced yet.
