Black Tech Twitter, trans users and more marginalized groups flock to Bluesky

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An NAACP flyer campaigning for the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 1922, but was filibustered to defeat in the Senate. Dyer, the NAACP, and freedom fighters around the country, like Flossie Baily, struggled for years to get the Dyer and other anti-lynching bills passed, to no avail. Today there is still no U.S. law specifically against lynching. In 2005, eighty of the 100 U.S. Senators voted for a resolution to apologize to victims' families and the country for their failure to outlaw lynching. Courtesy of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

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Claude, age 23, just months before his 1930 murder. Courtesy of Faith Deeter.

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May 4, 2023

Daysia Tolentino and J.J. McCorvey, NBCBLK

As Twitter becomes more inhospitable to marginalized communities, they hope to shape Bluesky’s culture early — with their voices at the center.

Some members of marginalized communities who are on Bluesky say they are cautiously optimistic that their early input will help create a tolerant environment as the app grows. Photo Credit – Chelsea Stahl

Many of the Black, queer and transgender users who made Twitter a cultural touchstone are growing weary of the platform, which they say has become increasingly inhospitable to marginalized communities. They are instead flocking to Bluesky, a buzzy invite-only app that may be the alternative jaded Twitter users have been looking for.

[…]

Black tech workers on Twitter were one of the first communities to migrate to Bluesky, an initiative spearheaded by an active user named Aveta.

[…]

Once Black Twitter users started moving to Bluesky, Aveta said, others wanted to follow.

“Black Twitter” — an unofficial group of users self-organized around shared cultural experiences that convenes sometimes viral discussions of social issues to pop culture — has played a key role in movements such as #SayHerName and #OscarsSoWhite.

Continue reading about the virtual migration of users to Bluesky here!

Under Elon Musk’s direction, Twitter has alienated its Black users.

Keep up on breaking news here!

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