After all the hand-wringing and early criticism, Hulu’s three-part docuseries, “Black Twitter: A People’s History,” has finally premiered. Turns out all the backlash was unwarranted, as it was a fun, nostalgic celebration of the culture. The point of the docuseries is to capture our influence on modern history in real time, because you know if we don’t, someone else will come along and try to take credit for all our hard work.
Several famous faces are interviewed about pivotal moments in Black Twitter history, with the people behind notable hashtags, memes and gifs providing the context behind how they were created.
In a very meta fashion, Black Twitter has plenty of opinions on “Black Twitter.” Other than a few criticisms about wanting more detail, the reactions are mostly positive. Viewers seem to be enjoying the walk down memory lane.
God-Is Rivera, former Global Director of Culture & Community at Twitter, appears in the doc to discuss how her team helped bring the ideas and vibe of Black Twitter to the actual company. In a thread, she posted a photo of herself at home watching the doc, writing on X, “Nothing will ever be perfect but I think this docuseries is an important dive into one of the most important communities and cultural phenomenons of our time— one I’m proud to have served and also consider myself a part of.”
:et’s dive into some of the most notable moments from “Black Twitter: A People’s History” and how the actual Black Twitter is responding to them.
Black Twitter is Not Wakanda
In case you need a basic primer on Black Twitter, the doc explains that it’s not actually a separate platform — it’s just a space we made for ourselves on the bird app.
One user laughed at how many people didn’t understand exactly what Black Twitter was, writing on X, “It’s also very hilarious that da yts thought Black Twitter was a separate app and all Like nah we just dominate every space.”
At one point, writer/host Baratunde Thurston notes that people were wondering “Is there some sort of portal that opens for us muggles to get in,” which definitely had viewers cracking up.
Moving the Needle
As it goes through the origins of how Black people made social media influential on MySpace (look it up kids), Facebook and Twitter, the doc focuses on how our honest, hilarious point of view often moves the needle on what’s popular. It explores how our live-tweets for shows like “Scandal,” “Game of Thrones” and “insecure” lifted them to new cultural heights.
One person highlights how essential Black people have been to the digital age, writing on X, “So far what I’m getting from #BlackTwitterHulu…Black people are the reason. That’s it.”
Rihanna’s Reign
Rih may be a polished, professional mogul now, but there’s definitely time to celebrate that time when she absolutely wasn’t and was getting all her shit off. One viewer celebrated the “Diamonds” singer’s Twitter bad girl era, writing on X, “Rihanna’s tweets were ICONIC back then.”
#BlackLivesMatter
“Chapter Two” takes a break from the fun and games to explore how Black Twitter was essential when it came to the Black Lives Matter movement. The fight for justice for Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Race and countless others is examined from the point of view of journalists and activists who were on the ground, changing things in real time.
It shows how Black Twitter became so much more than live-tweeting our favorite shows and making jokes about crazy white people. It was also were we could come together to support one another through our heartbreak and grief. And after we were done being sad, we started planning.
One of the most important movements in history started on Black Twitter.
Enter Elon
The doc does touch on how Elon Musk wasn’t fooling anyone when he bought the app and it felt like he tried to put a stop to the fun. Despite the name change to X, users seem to agree that Black Twitter won’t be that easy to get rid of. “After watching this, part of me feels like the renaming was another attempt to take something from us,” wrote one person on X.
Whether you were there or want to know the real story behind all those memes and hashtags, “Black Twitter: A People’s History” is an amazing timeline and celebration of the culture.
“Black Twitter: A People’s History” is now available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.