For hundreds of years before Black enslaved people were finally granted the right to literacy’s oral histories carried traditions, recipes, music, and culture. Only over a hundred years later, Black Twitter carries on this legacy of preservation.
Based on Jason Parham’s landmark Wired article, Black Twitter: A People’s History animates the power of current events as told by Black Twitter users. From director Prentice Penny (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Insecure) and showrunner Joie Jacoby, the upcoming Hulu miniseries recounts the countless American cultural moments with the hilarity and sincerity of a cookout.
Serving as a preservation of history through the perspectives of everyday Black twitter users, the three-part miniseries plays like a home video of fond memories on the platform since Twitter’s inception in 2008. Chronicling iconic infant trends (classic #TwitterAfterDark) and a sincere take on the future of X, the series serves as a capsule of knowledge and culture for a people who continue to be the frontrunners of cultural innovation.
The first two episodes are filled with the humor of early twitter and how Black folks took advantage of the broadcasted microblogging form to share their thoughts and perspectives on everything from #ThanksgivingClapbacks and Mount Rushmore of Karens to the gruesome murder of boys like Trayvon Martin and the COVID-19 pandemic’s disproportionate effects on Black people. Penny utilizes real tweets from users to record and celebrate the bounty of content and wisdom from Twitter’s expansive source material.
#Zola #YouKnowUrBlackWhen #ScandalThursday—all of these trends that not only revolutionized the platform, but also the country and the world at large get their spotlight.
Featuring iconic Black Twitter figures like Kalin Elisabeth and cultural icons Ira Madison III and Amanda Seales, Black Twitter A People’s History is a necessary watch but—much like Black Twitter itself—not catered to white taste (think before you giggle at that Yahoo Finance typo). Despite the harsh critiques of the show from users, the show is definitely in conversation with its constituents.
Black Twitter: A People’s History translates the gravity and comfort that derive from minute quick quips on the platform excitingly. The show displays how a sense of community is built and sustained through broad interpersonal conversation. Hashtags and gifs connect a deeply connected people, which the show aims to emphasize.
Beyond that, the miniseries highlights the undeniable power of Black thought through movements like #OscarsSoWhite (created by April Reign) which led to the diversification of the Academy and #BlackLivesMatter (created by Alicia Garza) that followed the murder of Trayvon Martin and sparked a racial revelation.
As political landscapes develop and Twitter (d)evolves into Elon Musk’s X, we find ourselves at a crossroads—what comes next? Do we continue to utilize twitter as a megaphone for messages, full of gifs and photos? Or is it simply a disintegrating archive of the modern Black American experience from a specific perspective? And would Rihanna be Rihanna without her Twitter?
