You already know that TikTok is a one-stop shop for everything from the latest commentary on the Kendrick-Drake beef to tips on how to give yourself a DIY facial while making a simple weeknight dinner for your family. But you may not know that the beloved social media platform has also become a popular resource for people looking for content from Black educators.
A search for #HillmanTok on the platform will produce thousands of videos on a variety of topics, including Black history, the stock market, gardening and more.
Here’s a lesson in Intro to Artificial Intelligence and Afrofuturism that explains how algorithms influence the content you see on your feeds.
The idea for the platform came out of a clip posted by Dr. Leah Barlow, who teaches Intro to African American Studies class at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Barlow’s TikTok message, intended to outline the course for her students at the beginning of the semester, expanded well beyond her classroom to reach nearly four million people.
She has since posted mini lectures on topics including Donald Glover’s “This is America” and Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance, which received more than 26,000 likes.
HillmanTok “classes” include shorter videos that meet TikTok’s 10-minute limit requirement as well as longer live sessions with the host that allow viewers to ask questions and engage in discussion.
Cierra Hinton, a sixth-grade math teacher and one of #HillmanTok’s co-founders, told NBC News that the platform’s purpose was to bring an HBCU-like experience to the web, spreading the content to as wide an audience as possible.
“Here at #HillmanTok, you are now able to connect with people of high esteem that are able to just teach because they love to teach, they want to teach, and they want to connect with people,” she said.
#HillmanTok has taken on a life of its own, with a website that includes a course listing – and of course swag for sale. But like everything else online, you should proceed with caution. Some users are already warning about white people who have a problem with the platform inserting themselves into conversations happening at #HillmanTok.
“Whenever there is any type of organization created or initiative or program designed to benefit Black people, our enemies are going to do the best that they can to tear it down,” one user said. “For them to hate us so much, they really do love to stay in our business.”