Can "Black Twitter" Be Used As Another Mode of Activism
Part of this page was taken from my previous projects in this class, involving Black Twitter, however, a lot of information was added to adjust to the theme of this ethnography.
What is Black Twitter?
"Black twitter?" Since when was Twitter a Black thing, you ask? Unofficially for a while now.
According to the Pew's Internet and American Life Project study, "Teens, Social Media, and Privacy,” Twitter is the preferred social network of African-American teens compared to white teens; 39 percent of African-American teens reported using Twitter while only 23 percent of white teens preferred it, (McDonnell-Smith).
Black Twitter is incredibly important for the African American community for several reasons. The first, it promotes inclusion. The realm of Black Twitter is open to African Americans and Afro-Cubans, to both the wealthy and the poor, to those who went to a historically Black college or university and to those who went to predominately White institutions. The only requirement if knowledge of the Black experience. “It’s a bunch of people like me. Black people in major cities and it’s basically six degrees of separation. I might not know you, but I might have a friend of a friend of a friend who does," said writer Michael Arceneaux.
Twitter as a Source for Activism
Black Twitter has also become a social force to be reckoned with. For example, Justine Sacco, the PR executive who jokingly tweeted about AIDS and inspired the worldwide trending topic #HasJustineLandedYet. Black Twitter was also very vocal about the Paula Deen incident. Jamilah Lemieux, digital news and life editor for Ebony magazine told the Washington Post: “You see the dozens being played on Twitter. You see people looking out for one another. Someone’s child is missing, someone’s looking for a job, someone’s looking for an apartment. Then there’s some minor injustice that takes place: a journalist or a major outlet says something terribly offensive, we’re on the attack. Or there’s a grave injustice like Trayvon Martin’s murder or the death of Renisha McBride, we’re all there,” (Washington Post).
Black Twitter and the Zimmerman Verdict
After Martin was gunned down, his parents began a Change.org petition that began circulating on Twitter and Facebook. Within 72 hours of its inception, the petition garnered over 1 million signatures, and eventually received 2, 278, 988 signatures, which led to charges being filed against Zimmerman, six weeks after the shooting occurred.
After the Zimmerman verdict, millions took to Twitter to express their outrage, frustration, and grief and to call for justice. Twitter was also instrumental in organizing and spreading the word about rallies being held in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and several other cities across the nation.
Moreover, after Juror B-37 announced to CNN that she will be writing a book about her experience during the trial, Twitter users quickly rallied and discouraged her agent from agreeing to the book deal. The following day, the juror announced she will no longer write the book.
Why is Black Twitter so important?
Writer and producer Elon James White said to Salon that Black Americans use Twitter "to disseminate and collect information to create a bigger dialogue...On the #TWIBdocket, people will share with us articles and petitions so that we might use our platform to amplify their signal. We spread information with #TWIBnation about what we’re doing as an organization while our audience interacts with our on-demand content. When our hashtags trend nationally, it shows the concerns shared by so many in a powerful and structured manner that is hard to deny.”
I agree with Washington Post writer Soraya Nadia McDonald: "Perhaps the most significant contribution of Black Twitter is that it increases visibility of black people online, and in doing so, dismantles the idea that white is standard and everything else is 'other.' It’s a radical demand for acceptance by simply existing — or sometimes dominating — in a space and being yourself, without apology or explanation." (Washington Post).
Salon article
What is Black Twitter?
"Black twitter?" Since when was Twitter a Black thing, you ask? Unofficially for a while now.
According to the Pew's Internet and American Life Project study, "Teens, Social Media, and Privacy,” Twitter is the preferred social network of African-American teens compared to white teens; 39 percent of African-American teens reported using Twitter while only 23 percent of white teens preferred it, (McDonnell-Smith).
Black Twitter is incredibly important for the African American community for several reasons. The first, it promotes inclusion. The realm of Black Twitter is open to African Americans and Afro-Cubans, to both the wealthy and the poor, to those who went to a historically Black college or university and to those who went to predominately White institutions. The only requirement if knowledge of the Black experience. “It’s a bunch of people like me. Black people in major cities and it’s basically six degrees of separation. I might not know you, but I might have a friend of a friend of a friend who does," said writer Michael Arceneaux.
Twitter as a Source for Activism
Black Twitter has also become a social force to be reckoned with. For example, Justine Sacco, the PR executive who jokingly tweeted about AIDS and inspired the worldwide trending topic #HasJustineLandedYet. Black Twitter was also very vocal about the Paula Deen incident. Jamilah Lemieux, digital news and life editor for Ebony magazine told the Washington Post: “You see the dozens being played on Twitter. You see people looking out for one another. Someone’s child is missing, someone’s looking for a job, someone’s looking for an apartment. Then there’s some minor injustice that takes place: a journalist or a major outlet says something terribly offensive, we’re on the attack. Or there’s a grave injustice like Trayvon Martin’s murder or the death of Renisha McBride, we’re all there,” (Washington Post).
Black Twitter and the Zimmerman Verdict
After Martin was gunned down, his parents began a Change.org petition that began circulating on Twitter and Facebook. Within 72 hours of its inception, the petition garnered over 1 million signatures, and eventually received 2, 278, 988 signatures, which led to charges being filed against Zimmerman, six weeks after the shooting occurred.
After the Zimmerman verdict, millions took to Twitter to express their outrage, frustration, and grief and to call for justice. Twitter was also instrumental in organizing and spreading the word about rallies being held in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and several other cities across the nation.
Moreover, after Juror B-37 announced to CNN that she will be writing a book about her experience during the trial, Twitter users quickly rallied and discouraged her agent from agreeing to the book deal. The following day, the juror announced she will no longer write the book.
Why is Black Twitter so important?
Writer and producer Elon James White said to Salon that Black Americans use Twitter "to disseminate and collect information to create a bigger dialogue...On the #TWIBdocket, people will share with us articles and petitions so that we might use our platform to amplify their signal. We spread information with #TWIBnation about what we’re doing as an organization while our audience interacts with our on-demand content. When our hashtags trend nationally, it shows the concerns shared by so many in a powerful and structured manner that is hard to deny.”
I agree with Washington Post writer Soraya Nadia McDonald: "Perhaps the most significant contribution of Black Twitter is that it increases visibility of black people online, and in doing so, dismantles the idea that white is standard and everything else is 'other.' It’s a radical demand for acceptance by simply existing — or sometimes dominating — in a space and being yourself, without apology or explanation." (Washington Post).
Salon article