Why Black Twitter was special

Right now, it’s Prentice Penny’s job to whisk you away to a mystical place, a realm where you once could say what you wanted, and what you wanted was personal, hilarious, important and maybe involved a “Crying Jordan” meme. That is, Black Twitter.

That virtual Shangri-La is the subject of the veteran showrunner’s new Hulu documentary, “Black Twitter: A People’s History.” It captures the far-spanning subculture during its Obama-era glory days, when Black users traded hashtags, memes, GIFs and slanguage with energy, glee and urgency. Now — as the internet has changed, after Twitter became X under new ownership, as new social networks have arisen — Black Twitter is something of a mirage. You can’t really go there anymore.