Looking to make new friends, have conversations with like-minded individuals, or make an addition to your company’s team? Then you need to get hip to a powerful source that has been brewing in Black Twitter. I was introduced to Twitter chats through the #blkcreatives network by Melissa Kimble.

A Twitter chat, is a Q&A style conversation with hosts and a panel. The questions are tweeted out by the host and the panel answers the questions using the designated hashtag so followers can join in on the fun.

The topics of Twitter chats range from building your tribe, political engagement, relationships, hip-hop, sex, religion and beyond.

In this article we rounded up some of the top Black Twitter chats that we think you would love. Check them out below!

*If you know of a chat that we should know about please drop a note in the comments section below.

 

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#CreativeSmartGirl

Bio: Nia Phillip is a New York based content creator and visual curator who is on a mission to inspire ambitious, creative, smart women to do the work to build the career, life, and style of their dreams.

As the creator of #CreativeSmartGirl and creativesmartgirl.com she’s building the digital media platform for driven millennial women.

How did #CreativeSmartGirl get started?

Last year, I wrote a post titled, “What does Hard Work look like, anyway” for my blog about what it truly takes to build a digital creative business. So many people flourishing in this space made it look so easy, and I was struggling. In those early hours in the morning I felt alone and I wanted to give up on my dreams. The post was really a crying out to other ambitious, creative, and smart women to share the truth about running creative businesses. By far, this was the most popular blog post I’ve ever written. So many people reached out to let me know about their struggles and to encourage me to keep going. I wanted to continue the conversation, and the #CreativeSmartGirl Twitter chat was born.

Typical themes of your Twitter chats: 

Self-care, entrepreneurship, and creativity.

What do you like best about Twitter chats?

I absolutely love the community and camaraderie you can build through Twitter chats. There really isn’t anything else quite like it on any other social media platform. For that hour/hour- and-a-half, you connect with people on a deeper level. Holding someone’s attention for an hour on social media is almost unheard of, yet, that’s exactly what happens during a chat. For one hour you have the attention of people that are just like you and you’re all contributing to one conversation to help make each other better. It’s a beautiful thing.

Your favorite chats outside of your own:

  1. #blkcreatives founded by Melissa Kimble.
  2. #HERmovement founded by Kyshira Moffett.
  3. #WOCinTech founded by Christina Morillo & Stephanie Morillo

 

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#blkcreatives 

Bio: Melissa Kimble is a Chicago based Social Media Strategist and writer who believes in using social media for good through education and empowerment. Melissa also currently serves as the Senior Social Media Manager for EBONY and has worked with major brands like McDonald’s, Golin Harris, Burrell Communications, American Family Insurance, Complex Hustle, and the NFL Draft.

How did #blkcreatives get started? 

#blkcreatives started as a way to share stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things and it grew from there. I was seeing so much content around celebs and I thought of all the people I knew who were making their dreams happen in real life, and I wanted to highlight that. Five years later, we’re still doing that but in a way that empowers everyone who comes in contact with the brand. We’ve created a win-win atmosphere for all.

Typical themes of your Twitter chats: 

We have an audience that undergoes a ton of different experiences but one thing that ties us all together is that we’re trying to become better people in the midst of these experiences. That’s why our chats revolve around personal development topics, but we’re going to have more focused, conversations in new ways this year.

What do you like best about Twitter chats?

We talk about issues that we ALL face but no one wants to discuss out loud. Once we start to share things, a lot of people see just how much we have in common, that we’re not alone in the challenges we face. Our chats really get to the heart of people and empower them to look within for answers. You’re not getting that anywhere else.

Your favorite chats outside of your own:

#CreativeSmartGirl and #CultureFix


 

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#HipHopED 

Bio:

  • Timothy Jones: A youth development expert who specializes in identifying and fostering teachable moments through the critical analysis of hip-hop and youth popular culture.
  • Amil Cook: A proud hip-hop generation leader in technology and education. Amil currently teaches at Propel Andrew Street High School, where he teaches Critical Cultural Media & IT Explorations.
  • Dr. Christopher Emdin: An Associate Professor in the department of Mathematics, Science and Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, Christopher also serves as Director of Science Education at the Center for Health Equity and Urban Science Education. He is the Associate Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

How did #HipHopED get started?

#HipHopEd was started in November 2010 as a continuance of a Twitter conversation between @chrisemdin  and @brandonframe as they were discussing Jay-Z’s Decoded.  These two brothers decided to have a weekly chat on Tuesdays from 9-10 pm EST using the hash tag #HipHopEd and six years later we are still continuing the discussion and growing a community of practitioners and other stakeholders within hip-hop culture

Typical themes of your Twitter chats: 

Our themes are normally centered around intersections of hip-hop, education and youth development.  We will address national events and issues such as the presidential election and mental health awareness by evaluating them from a hip-hop and youth perspective as a community of educators and stake holders.  We also will discuss new music, reflect on classic hip-hop and provide life commentary during key award shows and or documentaries.

What do you like best about Twitter chats?

Twitter chats provide us an opportunity to engage with people and build relationships that often go beyond our “cyber cypher.”  Twitter chats serve as a way to perfect quick, effective and comprehensive communication as well provide an immediate level of validation of thought and the opportunity for constructive debate.  Twitter chats provide an even playing field where thoughts can be exchanged and received based on the merit of the thought and not solely on the sender of the message.

Your favorite chats outside of your own:

#CultureFix and #TheListening


 

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#HerMovement

Bio: Kyshira S. Moffett is the creator of #HERmovement, a lifestyle brand that has skyrocketed into a full-fledged movement. The blog, thisishermovement.com centers on career, branding and lifestyle topics. #HERmovement represents today’s busy bombshell, the ambitious millennial in pursuit of excellence while feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

How did #HerMovement get started? 

#HERmovement is a brand for the busy bombshells of the world. A busy bombshell is a creative and driven woman who has a multitude of interests outside of her career. It initially started as a blog simply providing career development advice as my peers were consistently seeking my perspective. As my interest in social media grew, I began to incorporate branding into my blog. The term #HERmovement was actually created by my web designer, Tiffany Clayton as she could see the potential of the site before I did. She wrote on the homepage “click here to follow #HERmovement” and I ran with it. The #HERmovement brand consists of weekly blog posts, podcasts, YouTube videos, and truly came to life in the form of the Hustle HER Way summit.

Typical themes of your twitter chats: 

The topic changes each month but ideally I stay within the realm of business and branding. A few examples of past chats include: The Power of Collaboration, The Art of Calculated Risk Taking, Squad Goals  – Who’s in Your Circle? and Taking Your Career to the Next Level. You can find highlights of past chats here. I’m beginning to incorporate lifestyle topics and current events into the chat as well.

What do you like best about Twitter chats?

The women (and men, on occasion) that participate truly give me energy. The group never fails to freely share their advice, experiences and resources. Those that have followed me for a while truly embody the meaning of the brand and embrace those that are new to the chat. Its heartwarming to have a support system of people that I’ve never met but want to see #HERmovement grow.

Your favorite chats outside of your own:

My favorite Twitter chats include the #blkcreatives chat hosted by Melissa Kimble and the #millennialtalk chat hosted by Chelsea Krost. I’ve always walked away from these chats with a new nugget of inspiration


 

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#TribeChats 

Bio:  Maura Chanz has an undying love for culture, storytelling, and technology. She seeks to deliver the voice of multi-cultural brands through her creative agency, Glitter & Hustle. In addition to Glitter & Hustle, Maura is the founder of TRIBE, a community for WOC providing tools and the network needed to reach their maximum potential and a digital correspondent for Bossip.

How did #TribeChats get started? 

Once I decided to create TRIBE, I immediately thought about how to maximize our reach and grow the community the quickest. I’m very active on Twitter and saw the power of building a community via Twitter chats through the success of Melissa Kimble’s #blkcreatives, amongst others, and decided to give it a go. I made a list of women in my network that I thought would have a lot to contribute and went from there.

Typical themes of your Twitter chats: 

The themes of our Twitter chats align with the categories of content on our site. Those are: women in progress, financial balance, sisterhood & collaboration, productivity, entrepreneurship, self discovery via travel, and holistic wellness.

What do you like best about Twitter chats?

I love that Twitter chats have the ability to feel familial and build a sense of connection in a short period. Oftentimes people tweet about their life and occasionally engage with others…Twitter chats are all engagement.

Your favorite chats outside of your own:

#Millenial On A MissionChasity Cooper

#BlkCreativesMelissa Kimble

#JOYdayMovement – Morgan Daniels

#CreativeSmartGirl – Nia Phillips


 

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#BWSexPositve

Bio: Leondra Saintil aka “SaintLee” is a Tallahassee-based artist and writer hailing from Miami, Florida. She’s been singing since she was 5-years-old. Currently, she’s a senior public relations student at Florida A&M University.

How did #BWSexPositive get started? 

My #BWSexPositve chat came about after I released my current single “Juicy.” “Juicy” is about embracing my sexuality, which I think every women should embody. I enjoy intellectual conversations and I’ve always been interested in Twitter chats. I thought as an upcoming artist and HBCU student I’d like to use my platform for something positive. So I created my own Twitter chat, focusing on Black women being sex positive.

Typical themes of your Twitter chats: 

My theme will always revolve around Black women just for the simple fact that I am a Black woman.

What do you like best about Twitter chats?:

I really appreciate how engaging Twitter chats can be. I love that we can take the time out to voice our opinions on certain topics. We may not agree with each other but it’s a learning experience. Twitter is fun for quoting lyrics and talking about our day-to-day lives, but I enjoy it the most when we’re having intriguing conversations.

Your favorite chats outside of your own:

I really enjoy the #blkcreatives which is for Black artists of all kinds. This particular chat helps you own your creativity, conquer your fears and find balance within your artwork. You can look forward to many resources, opportunities and increase your following with like minded people.

What’s your favorite Twitter chat? Tell us in the comments section below! 

 


Diahann “Dee” Williams is a photographer, writer, and Social Media Specialist for the EBONY brand. You can connect with her on Twitter & Instagram or DeexDee.com