the feminist librarian reads

Black twitter shaped the media narrative. But they were able to shape the narrative because of the conditions of new (-ish) media like NPR’s Codeswitch and Washington Post’s Post Everything. These new media verticals have somehow sped up even the 24 hour cable news cycle, which we would have once thought impossible. These outlets drew from bloggers and social media personalities who could bring with them some writing chops, an audience, and experience embedded in social media streams. Many of those were black. That is not an accident. Digital media appealed to blackfolks for the same reasons that any innovation appeals to us. It is a chance to up-end legacy structures and institutions that have shut us out. We are early adopters not to be cool but to survive.