#BlackGirlMagic

2013

Date: 2013 · Place: Twitter; Washington, DC · Figures: CaShawn Thompson, originator · Misty Copeland, ballerina invoked · Simone Biles, gymnast invoked · Julee Wilson, Essence editor · Tags: Hashtag, BlackTwitter, Affirmation 01. The Original Phrasing In 2013 CaShawn Thompson begins tweeting black girls are magic as a way of cataloguing the everyday and historic achievements of Black women. The clipped hashtag #BlackGirlMagic follows. Thompson sells the phrase on T-shirts from her account; the tag spreads without her brand attached. By January 2016 Essence magazine runs a four-cover issue under the banner. Misty Copeland's American Ballet Theatre promotion, Simone Biles's first all-around world title, and Ava DuVernay's Selma awards run are tagged on Twitter the same week they happen. 02. Joy as Counter-Hashtag BlackGirlMagic functions as the affirmative counterweight to BlackLivesMatter on the same timeline. The protest tag mourns; the magic tag celebrates. The same accounts post both, often in the same hour. Critics inside the community argue the word magic dehumanises Black women into superhuman labourers. Linda Chavers writes the case against in Elle, January 2016. Thompson responds that magic is the point: ordinary made visible. Sources • Julee Wilson, 'The Meaning Of #BlackGirlMagic, And How You Can Get Some Of It', Essence, 12 January 2016 • Linda Chavers, 'Here's My Problem With #BlackGirlMagic', Elle, 13 January 2016 • Washington Post profile of CaShawn Thompson, 22 February 2016