"#BlackGirlMagic has been challenging marginalized women of color to appreciate their excellence, a seemingly radical notion in this day and age" |  |
Unless you're one of the small fraction of millennials abstaining from social media--or the internet all together--it's likely you've seen or heard of #BlackGirlMagic. This term was coined by CaShawn Thompson in 2013 as a way for black women to publicly take pride in themselves. As far as social media goes, this trend couldn't have come at a better time.
It all started with a clothing campaign, "Black Girls Are Magic," that Thompson created with her friend in 2013. Ranging from sweatshirts to tees, with the mission of celebrating the "beauty, intelligence and power of Black women everywhere," as her website reads. Originally just for family and friends, this logo and message quickly spread with the help of well-established social media influencers. People like Amandla Stenberg, star of Everything, Everything, posted a picture of herself in one of Thompson's hoodies. Willow Smith, daughter of Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, also posted a picture on Instagram, posts that got a collective amount of about 20k likes. It was posts like these, and the effort of black twitter to further this hashtag, that got the trend rolling.
However, before the hashtag had blown up, the trolling of black women, such as Serena Williams, Viola Davis and comedian Leslie Jones, were prevalent online. All were under fire for not fitting into the "classic" idea of beauty. A New York Times journalist published an article in September of 2014, criticizing Shonda Rhimes’ work on breakout shows Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, both having strong, black female leads. In this article, Alessandra Stanley cross references these two shows and asserts that Davis’ portrayal of Annalise in How to Get Away with Murder is "older, darker-skinned and less classically beautiful" than the lead character in Scandal. In response, the hashtag “#LessClassicallyBeautiful" trended on twitter, defending not only Davis and Rhimes, but other black women across her platform. #BlackGirlMagic replaced this months later, as a means of defending women who were considered "less classically beautiful.”
Since this hashtag went viral, it's accompanied strides in furthering the promotion of strong women of color. Beyoncé's Lemonade, released in 2016, made waves in the community. A black woman who had extended her platform enough to compose an album centered on her blackness, unashamed and unapologetic. This was globally the highest selling album of 2016. Her sister, Solange, followed suit later that year, releasing A Seat at the Table, an album eight years in the making. An album that occupied No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart for weeks after its release. Lemonade and A Seat at the Table--both including themes of not only pain, but pride—have become anthems for black girls everywhere. In an interview for Saint Heron, Solange says she “grew up in a household with two parents who constantly celebrated Blackness and created forums and spaces to empower Black communities,” something she and her sister strived to bring to everyone.
It all started with a clothing campaign, "Black Girls Are Magic," that Thompson created with her friend in 2013. Ranging from sweatshirts to tees, with the mission of celebrating the "beauty, intelligence and power of Black women everywhere," as her website reads. Originally just for family and friends, this logo and message quickly spread with the help of well-established social media influencers. People like Amandla Stenberg, star of Everything, Everything, posted a picture of herself in one of Thompson's hoodies. Willow Smith, daughter of Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, also posted a picture on Instagram, posts that got a collective amount of about 20k likes. It was posts like these, and the effort of black twitter to further this hashtag, that got the trend rolling.
However, before the hashtag had blown up, the trolling of black women, such as Serena Williams, Viola Davis and comedian Leslie Jones, were prevalent online. All were under fire for not fitting into the "classic" idea of beauty. A New York Times journalist published an article in September of 2014, criticizing Shonda Rhimes’ work on breakout shows Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, both having strong, black female leads. In this article, Alessandra Stanley cross references these two shows and asserts that Davis’ portrayal of Annalise in How to Get Away with Murder is "older, darker-skinned and less classically beautiful" than the lead character in Scandal. In response, the hashtag “#LessClassicallyBeautiful" trended on twitter, defending not only Davis and Rhimes, but other black women across her platform. #BlackGirlMagic replaced this months later, as a means of defending women who were considered "less classically beautiful.”
Since this hashtag went viral, it's accompanied strides in furthering the promotion of strong women of color. Beyoncé's Lemonade, released in 2016, made waves in the community. A black woman who had extended her platform enough to compose an album centered on her blackness, unashamed and unapologetic. This was globally the highest selling album of 2016. Her sister, Solange, followed suit later that year, releasing A Seat at the Table, an album eight years in the making. An album that occupied No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart for weeks after its release. Lemonade and A Seat at the Table--both including themes of not only pain, but pride—have become anthems for black girls everywhere. In an interview for Saint Heron, Solange says she “grew up in a household with two parents who constantly celebrated Blackness and created forums and spaces to empower Black communities,” something she and her sister strived to bring to everyone.
Naturally, as these albums climbed the charts, more media outlets began to cover the source of this campaign. Magazines like Teen Vogue and Essence have referenced the phrase in their articles. Teen Vogue covered a story on Amandla Stenberg, a self proclaimed activist, and actively collaborates with Yara Shahidi, star of Blackish and advocate for young women of color, both of whom are featured on covers. Essence created a column on their website that “celebrates the young women shaping our future and pays tribute to the #BlackGirlMagic movement through visual storytelling,” and that’s exactly what this has become, a movement.
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Black Demographics reported that, as of 2013, 57% percent of black women have attended college, 22% earning a bachelor’s degree or higher and 64% holding a white collar job. As of this year, black women exclusively, only earn about 63 cents for every dollar paid to white men. Still, according to The National Women’s Business Council, there are 1,531,494 black female owned businesses in the United States, so it comes as no surprise that they are also the fastest growing entreprenurial group since 2007, a statistic that goes unnoticed. However, with the manifestation of #BlackGirlMagic, comes the acknowledgement of black female achievements. And though a hashtag may not be able to bridge wage gaps or clear systematic obstacles, #BlackGirlMagic has been challenging marginalized women of color to appreciate their excellence, a seemingly radical notion in this day and age.