Black Twitter and Social Media
With several societal conflicts occurring in the United States over the past few years, the emergence of an online community, "Black Twitter" (Ramsey par. 1) has served as a connective tissue to real life and online. Twitter has facilitated this interconnectedness among individuals and presented the site as a source for activism. Individuals can find a send of belonging among this group, which can ultimately influence their political views and/or inspire people to act upon an issue.
Meredith Clark defines Black Twitter as a personal community that is thematically condensed, and has several online ways to organize and pull people from the outside to a community/group (Ramsey par. 6). It is important to understand that this group is not limited to "just one shade of blackness" (Ramsey par. 21). It is a collection individuals and personalities that form a very diverse group of people from different backgrounds.
United by the desire to end white supremacy in America, people are entering their personal narrative into a historical archive. Unlike other social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter is not a closed network with lots of restriction and website authorities monitoring content. Hashtag campaigns have been used to bring attention to racial controversy and other trending topics in the media. In 140 characters or less, people can voice their opinions, inform the public about an event, and allow for the interaction with other members of Black Twitter. Clark views hashtags significant in how these "Public-private conversations do give you an opportunity to learn from someone where you don’t necessarily have to interact with them” (Ramsey par. 30). Beginning on an individual level of submitting a tweet, you can potentially spark debate or activism, but you can also influence peoples' actions and behaviors inflicted on society.
Sources:
Ramsey, Donovan X. "The Truth About Black Twitter." The Atlantic. 10 Apr. 2015. Web. 27 Aug. 2015.