Counterpublics have been described as “parallel discursive arenas where members of subordinate social groups invent and circulate counter discourses to formulate oppositional interpretations of their identities, interests, and needs” and Black Twitter is no exception to this. In response to brutal and sometimes highly publicized killings of black people by law enforcement officers, black users of Twitter have molded national discourse, popularizing hashtags such as #BlackLivesMatter.  The space occupied on Twitter by these users has even been dubbed “Black Twitter,” which has become a cultural force, as well as a source of entertainment and a place of refuge. It was even described by Michael Arceneaux, who formed a list of Black Twitter’s 2013 All-Stars for Complex Magazine, as “an extension of my black urban experience.”

Throughout history, African Americans have constructed and occupied spaces separate from whites, using iconic sites like black churches, barbershops, and beauty salons for the production of uniquely black rhetoric. But “Black Twitter” is the latest in the progression of spaces African Americans use to cultivate their views. Everyday, members of “Black Twitter” use the platform to voice their concerns in a way they could not on television or the radio, since there are little to no mainstream media outlets geared specifically toward black people. The power of Black Twitter has been seen in instances such as when it helped terminate a book deal for a juror who planned to write their account of the George Zimmerman trial after Zimmerman was acquitted of charges in the death of Trayvon Martin. One user tracked down the juror’s literary agent, Sharlene Martin, and posted Martin’s Twitter handle, e-mail address and other information, pleading with her not to let the juror profit from Trayvon Martin’s slaying, and urging her followers to do the same. Her tweet, which utilized the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag, reached masses and eventually, a change.org petition was formed that racked up over 1,300 signatures.

Because discourses produced on spaces such as Twitter are closely intertwined with the social facts of the physical world, it is important that we increasingly normalize and include the digital sphere in everyday life so counterpublics such as Black Twitter can gain more traction and recognition in the public eye.