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Home · Black History Month

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women

By Lauren Porter · Updated October 27, 2020

Some of the Internet’s most viral hashtags have been created by Black women. From #BlackGirlMagic to #OscarsSoWhite, each tag was used to raise awareness on issues like diversity, police brutality, and loving the skin we’re in. Here are 13 viral movements that have the brain power of Black women behind them.

01
Say It Loud!

Some of the Internet’s most viral hashtags have been created by Black women. From #BlackGirlMagic to #OscarsSoWhite, each tag was used to raise awareness on issues like diversity, police brutality, and loving the skin we’re in. Here are 13 viral movements that have the brain power of Black women behind them.

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
02
Black Lives Matter

It’s more than a hashtag, it’s a movement…it’s Black Lives Matter created by three Black women: Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors. The movement came to life after Mike Brown was shot in killed in Ferguson, Missouri by a white police officer. In the photo above, Edward Crawford throwsa tear gas canister fired by police who were trying to disperse protesters who reacted to the unjust killing.

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP
03
#IAmJada

In 2014, 16-year-old girl Jada was raped while at a party and was subsequently mocked for her abuse on social media. The #IAmJada hashtag emerged as girls and women around the world stood with her sexual abuse victim as she bravely shared her story. 

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
04
Black Girls are Magic

CaShawn Thompson started the campaign “Black Girls are Magic” in late 2013  celebrate the beauty and power of Black women. YES!  

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
Instagram.com/thepbg
05
#OscarsSoWhite

After nominees for the 2015 Academy Awards lacked diversity, April Reign started the movement called #OscarsSoWhite. When the nominations were announced in 2016, the quality remained and the hashtag reemerged. 

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
Instagram.com/reignofapril
06
#CarefreeBlackGirl

The credit for starting this movement goes to Zeba Blay who first used the hashtag on Twitter in May 2013.

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
Instagram.com/zebablay
07
#WombFire

ESSENCE.com Fashion editor Julee Wilson started #WombFire when she and her husband we’re trying for a baby. The two now have a son, Orion, and he’s so cute!! 

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
Instagram.com/JuleeWilson
08
#TravelNoire

Zim Ugochukwu is the founder and CEO of Travel Noire which is a digital publishing brand that creates compelling tools, resources and experiences to help Black travelers discover new international destinations.

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
Instagram.com/zimism
09
#BeingABlackGirlIsLit

Twitter user, @Awkward_Duck, started the hashtag because well, being a Black girl is pretty lit. 

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
10
Fros and Beaus

Fros and Beaus was started by Joiya Cloud to celebrate Black men loving their ladies natural hair just as much as she does! 

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
Instagram.com/FrosAndBeaus
11
#IWillNotApologizeForBeingBlackSkin

Alicia Daniella started the hashtag to combat the negative comments she received for the complexion of her skin. People soon started to share their stories of overcoming the negativity that targeted their melanin. 

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
twitter.com/keepupwithle
12
Nomadness Tribe

Evita “Evie” Robinson created Nomadness Travel Tribe in 2011 for world travellers of color with an urban age. The invitation-only society allows for globetrotters to share tips, photos and engage in conversation with like-minded people who are on a quest to see the world. So dope! 

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
Instagram.com/evierobie
13
On Fleek

You may not have known that the wildly popular phrase “On Fleek” was started by Peaches Monoree who posted a vine in 2014 and used the term to describe her eyebrows after getting them done! 

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
14
#PrettyPeriod

Pretty Period was started by Dr. Yaba Blay who wanted to create a “visual tribute to Black skin [and] a visual testament to Black beauty.”

13 Viral Movements Created by Black Women
Instagram.com/prettyperiod
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