On July 29, Black Twitter saw the birth of a new hashtag—#blackgrrlscreate. The hashtag was created by Denayja Reese to celebrate the contributions of Black female innovators, and encourage and inspire future ones. The hashtag will be a part of an ongoing monthly Twitter chat. Here are five ways that this hashtag showed the magic of Black girls.
#Blackgrrlscreate shows the true potential of Black women.
In today’s mainstream media, Black girls are often perceived as monolithic. Too often, Black women are depicted as sassy, angry women. However, #blackgrrlscreate aims to change the narrative and show that Black girls and women are diverse in their interests and skills.
For the hashtag’s debut, its topic of focus was how #blackgrrlscreate community. In addition to Reese and the Twitter users, there were two prominent Black girl creators who participated in the hashtag. One was Jada Mosely, creator of the hashtag #howitfeelstobeablackgirl and its web series of the same name. The other was Jamie Broadnax, creator of the website, Black Girl Nerds. By featuring these two successful women, this hashtag shows that Black women are creative and able to mold diverse communities of like-minded women.
#Blackgrrlcreates shows Black women can lead and participate in a community.
We lead by creating for an audience that everyone else ignores… (1/2) #blackgrrrlscreate https://t.co/VDhANGoi6x
— Fulanigrl (@Fulanigrl) July 30, 2015
A USA Today article earlier this year remarked that the progress of Black women in pop culture was still largely negative. Complex, positive representations of Black women are rarely seen and heard. As a result, Black girls and women have taken it upon themselves to create and showcase the Black women they want to see through various creative platforms.
#Blackgrrlcreates shows how publications and projects are the key to forming a community.
Just building a project is more for show Building a community is more collective and interactive #blackgrrrlscreate https://t.co/xIPeyVpU1B
— Jada M. (@HIFTBABG) July 30, 2015
It is one thing to create a television channel or magazine and another thing to connect with the consumers of these products. According to a 2010 study released Latimmer Communications, 86 percent of Black women believe that advertisers and corporations need to do a better job of marketing toward them. By communicating with their consumers, #blackgrrlcreators like Blavity co-founder Morgan Debaun have made strong contributions to the Black community.
In an interview with Madame Noire, Debaun stated that Blavity was meant to economically contribute to the Black community.
“For a creator, that might mean we can help you find your next project or connect you to someone who wants to sponsor you,” she said. “For consumers, we are helping you find products and services that we think you’ll like. We want to impact people’s lives profoundly that economically they couldn’t imagine living without our platform or product.”
#Blackgrrlcreates celebrates Black women who have inspired them.
@IssaRae and @Luvvie all day!! #blackgrrrlscreate https://t.co/euRKP9ulNB
— Girl Tyler (@sheistyler) July 30, 2015
In 2012, Issa Rae was met with racism when her web series, Awkward Black Girl won a Shorty Award. In 2015, the Oscars were so white that it spawned the now infamous #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, drawing criticism for its snub of Selma director, Ava DuVernay. Although Black women still struggle to get the recognition they rightly deserve, their influence can undeniably impact young Black girls who are aiming for success.
#Blackgrrlcreates shows the community of Black women can continue to grow.
Love to see more repping at conventions, events, meetups and media press. People need to SEE us #blackgrrrlscreate https://t.co/AaP9MyjgRl
— BlackGirlNerds (@BlackGirlNerds) July 30, 2015
Even successful Black women like Denayja Reese have made great communities, there is always room for improvement. Through things like increased visibility and collaboration, Black women can reach their full potential and help others do the same.
This creates Black girl magic, and it is a beautiful and wonderful thing.
