New docuseries on Black Twitter illustrates the collective clout of Black people

The three-part Hulu docuseries, “Black Twitter: A People’s History,” captures the social media phenomenon that impacted media, entertainment, politics, public opinion, and much more.

Prentice Penny is no outsider to Black Twitter. Ever since the 2016 launch of Issa Rae’s star-turning HBO series “Insecure,” for which he was the showrunner, Penny has been an active participant on the platform now known as X.

In that regard, he is personally invested in documenting the social media phenomenon in the three-part Hulu docuseries “Black Twitter: A People’s History,” as director and producer. 

This documentary, he said, feels necessary.

Prentice Penny, right, said the sale of Twitter became part of the reason he needed to document it. “It was like, ‘Well, this is why, because these things could be here today and gone tomorrow,’” he said. Clarence Williams / Disney“I think we need this now more than ever when I see our history being changed, our books being banned,” he told NBC News during a promotional event in Atlanta. “I think sometimes we think about it just for today, but that’s not where time is going to end, right? What is the story of Black Twitter going to be in 50 years or 100 years, right? Will the platform even be here?”

“The idea that Black Twitter can totally be erased, and become another oral tradition of ours, to me, is sad,” he said, continuing. “So to be able to tell our story while it’s happening is just important.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-twitter-documentary-hulu-rcna149232

---