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‘Black Joy’ Is Front And Center In Twitter’s Most Liked Tweet This Week

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This article is more than 3 years old.
Updated Jun 14, 2020, 03:56pm EDT

TOPLINE

Melinda Oliver, a black woman from St. Louis, Missouri, shared a video of her mom’s surprise and delight while reading her acceptance letter and sizable scholarship award to law school—what she called “black joy”— in a tweet that became Twitter’s most-liked this week, according to data from NewsWhip, a social media tracking firm.

KEY FACTS

“If you need to see a little black joy, please watch my moms reaction when I told her I got into law school with a $40,000 annual scholarship,” wrote Melinda Oliver on Twitter Wednesday.

Oliver posted a video of her handing the acceptance letter to her mother, who was talking on the phone—and took two incredible double-takes at learning that not only was her daughter going to law school, but that she got a scholarship to go with it.

Oliver’s tweet has been liked 1.8 million times, shared by more than 300,000 people and the video has been watched over 17 million times—and is the most-liked tweet since Sunday, June 7, 2020.

“After months of collective trauma, people need to see that good things are still possible and happening,” Oliver told Forbes, referencing the coronavirus pandemic and massive social unrest as citizens march across the country to end racism and police brutality.

Oliver’s mother, Linda, has been “loving every minute” of the overwhelming love people have shown for her, and has “been reading all the comments, and loves that people are feeling so encouraged and inspired by our family’s special moment,” Oliver said.

NewsWhip’s Twitter engagement data comes from its database of influential users, which tracks around 350,000 accounts.


Crucial quote

“I think people have gravitated towards my video because it showcases something we haven’t seen in a while, which is joy,” Oliver told Forbes. “I think it gave people hope and a reason to smile and feel encouraged. After posting my video, I spoke about the obstacles that stood in my way and how I slowly but surely overcame them. That’s something we all can relate to, and it’s always encouraging to see that play out.”

Key background

Oliver was accepted to DePaul University’s law school after, she said, studying by herself for the LSAT (the standardized admissions test for law) while working full time. A friend of Oliver’s had previously started a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to pay back Oliver’s undergraduate school, the University of Missouri-Columbia. Oliver could not obtain her transcripts without paying the amount owed. As of Sunday, the GoFundMe had raised over $25,000 of its initial $15,000 goal, which means Oliver will also have some additional help in paying tuition not covered by the scholarship, among other expenses. Oliver has also used the moment on Twitter to highlight the need to make education more affordable in the U.S., saying that it’s “shameful” that millions of people have been deterred from seeking higher education due to the cost. 

Surprising fact 

“People were real life commenting under my video saying things like ‘Why does it have to be ‘black joy?’ Why can’t it just be ‘joy’?’” Oliver tweeted Saturday, after reports broke that an unarmed black man, Rayshard Brooks, was shot and killed in Atlanta, Georgia. “It’s because black people are forced to be in a constant state of mourning and rage in this country.”

Further reading

Like George Floyd, This Man Was Arrested For Using A Counterfeit Bill—But Says White Privilege Saved His Life (Forbes)

California Assembly Passes Reparations Bill (Forbes)

Minneapolis City Council Unanimously Votes To Replace Police With Community-Led Model (Forbes)

NFL Makes Juneteenth A League Holiday (Forbes)

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