Celebrating the beauty of Black joy and Black creativity shouldn’t be limited to Black History Month in February. Black TikTok content creators have been making their voices and objectives heard on social media for years, and if you weren’t paying attention already, you’ll want to make a habit of it ASAP.
In the summer of 2021, Black creators on TikTok brought major attention to how their content is often overlooked. In an effort to call out cultural appropriation on Tiktok, content creators started the hashtag #BlackTikTokStrike and put a pause on creating dance tutorials, one of the most prominent and viral forms of TikTok content. Black TikTokers involved in the online strike acknowledged that it’s easy for non-Black creators to gain financial and social success from videos, dances and sounds originated by Black content creators. Jalaiah Harmon, the 14-year-old TikToker responsible for creating the popular “Renegade” choreography, experienced one of the most prominent examples of this when white TikTokers like Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae received fame from her original content.
Today, many Black TikTokers continue to create anti-racist, open-minded, personal, and informative videos. They’re making a difference one 60-second video at a time, while making sure their culture is properly represented and standing up for the community they’ve created. For this Black History Month and every month, fill your FYP with Black joy and anti-racist content creators by giving these 10 inspiring Black Tiktokers a follow.
1. Amber Wallin
Amber, aka @burr_iam on TikTok, didn’t plan on going viral when she started singing to her plants every Friday during the pandemic. Yes, you read that right. Amber shares pretty much every aspect of her life with her followers: what it’s like to be a voice actor, a Black woman in an interracial relationship, pregnant in a pandemic, and even the host of a podcast. This Black History Month, Amber is using her platform to highlight 28 different Black-owned small businesses, one for each day of February. Make sure to follow along for the rest of the month to see the rest of Amber’s approved Black-owned businesses.
2. André White Jr.
André is a commercial voice artist and digital content creator using his TikTok platform, @blackkout___, to create change for the Black community. Whether he’s pointing out racist casualties within the American government, calling out other TikTokers for racist behavior, or informing his followers on the stories of unknown Black political pioneers, André is the perfect Black history teacher. At the beginning of this year’s Black History Month, André started a TikTok series called Badass Black People, in which he highlights Black soldiers, young Black revolutionaries, and Black women, all forgotten about in our American history books.
3. Mycah Bacchus
Mycah’s TikTok is a safe space that showcases the beauty of #Blacklove. She and her husband created Maye Williams Active, a Black-owned fitness wear company that they run together. On February 6, she posted a video talking about how she’s intentionally choosing to #supportBlackwomen, by using products from Black-owned businesses and listening to Black musicians. Another way that she’s supporting Black women is by starting a series called “Trending Sounds on BlaqueTok.” In this series, she plays trending sounds used by millions of TikTok users a day and informs viewers of the Black artists behind them. Whether it’s the Taraji P. Henson Empire sound or the song “Throw It Back” by Shantii P X TarioP, she’s spreading the word about Black creators we all need to be giving credit to.
4. Cristian Dennis
Cristian has been on TikTok since long before the pandemic, bringing humor and joy to his 8.3 million followers. Adored for his dance videos, the fashion inspiration he gives his fans, and a slightly unhealthy obsession with Doja Cat, Cristian is mostly known for showing his followers what a healthy, loving, and joyful Black gay relationship looks like. Whether he’s duetting his boyfriend Tyshon’s videos or teaching him the latest TikTok choreography, Cristian is loved by fans simply because he is authentic and real in every aspect of his online platform — his relationship, his individuality, his sexuality, his passion for creativity, and his drive to bring laughter to the lives of his followers.
5. Monet mcmichael
Monet committed to the content creator life way back in 2015, while TikTok was still Musical.ly. Her rise to fame was during the early months of the pandemic, where she allowed people a chance to escape quarantine and watch her get ready for the day, showing off her outfit, hair, and makeup with the latest pop songs playing in the background. The fans in her comment sections say her videos make you feel like you’re on FaceTime with your best friend. Monet, who is 22 years old, Puerto Rican, and Black, is finishing her senior year of nursing school, while still pursuing life as an influencer. In an October 2021 video, she told her followers, “You can do anything you put your mind to.”. She shows her followers what it’s like to be a strong and motivated young Black woman, committed to making a life for herself that she deserves.
6. Malia Schmalleger
Malia is the cool big sister that Gen Z needs right now. The content she posts is open-minded, inspirational and encouraging, motivating her followers to become the best version of themselves. Between posting productive morning routines and affirmation meditations, Malia also provides her audiences with supportive sex and relationships content that helps viewers raise their standards and practice more self-love. Embracing her physicality is one of the main reasons why viewers are so drawn to Malia’s presence — she is responsible for bringing positivity and light to 1.6 million followers everyday. She also faces racial stereotypes head on, being a mixed-race woman, and has also dedicated videos to addressing racist comments such as, “You don’t sound black.” By calling out these disrespectful stereotypes, she gives her viewers the strength and confidence to push back against similar comments in their daily lives.
7. Awa sanneh
Awa just recently grew her platform to 295,000 followers on TikTok because of a series she started to inform her 18- to 23-year old followers on how to financially, professionally, and romantically start their lives. Since many members of Gen Z find themselves confused on how to make strides toward their dream life, Awa provides her viewers with supportive answers to questions like, “How do I rent an apartment?” or “How do I get scholarships for college?” Awa is encouraging her followers to take their lives into their own hands and fight for what they deserve.
Awa also shares her personal experiences as a Black woman, including when she told her followers that she self-tans because of discoloration in her skin. Even though the internet has criticized her choice, she started a self-tanner TikTok series in which she talks about her beauty routine, her relationship with her skin, and how tanning has brought her more confidence as a Black girl.
8. Leoni’s Studio
Leoni is a Black painter who creates art that highlights the beauty within a woman, especially Black women. Whether she’s painting a canvas or a pair of jeans, Leoni uses bold colors and abstract lines to showcase the inspiration she finds in her friends, family, loved ones, and even strangers. “I believe that everyone has their own beauty and uniqueness that deserves to be appreciated and put on display,” Leoni says on her website, where she sells canvases, apparel, and lifestyle items like mugs.
9. Naya A Ford
Naya uses her platform to spread personal growth advice, whether that be achieving the dating life you deserve, finding beauty within self-love, or achieving your dream career. Recently, Naya posted a video that brought awareness to what it’s truly like being a Black content creator. She brought attention to the obstacles Black creators face every day, including underpaying brands, having to work harder than white content creators, racist internet trolls, or not getting credit for your content. This video’s comment section brought Black content creators together, providing them with a supportive space. Naya also shared her own list of Black TikTok creators to follow.
10. Serah Faulk
Serah, a Black content creator with 1.5 million followers, shows the true beauty behind embracing your natural curls. Whether she’s showing how many objects she can hide in her hair, taking her followers through hair tutorials, or participating in the latest TikTok dances, Serah has multiple videos on her page informing her followers on her life with natural hair. Serah shared with her followers in a May 2021 TikTok video that growing up she tried to hide her hair, thinking it didn’t fit the beauty standards. After deciding to fall in love with herself and physical appearance, she embraced the beauty of her hair and now shares that beauty with her followers every day.
Of course, Following 10 Black TikTok creators won’t be sufficient when it comes to acknowledging, understanding, and implementing anti-racism in every aspect of our lives. Black History Month exists to remind people of Black Americans’ achievements, but we should be celebrating these all year long. We all must educate ourselves and hold each other accountable when it comes to supporting and standing up for the Black community. By supporting Black-owned businesses, donating to charities that support anti-racism like the Black Youth Project, reading books by Black authors, doing our part for the Black Lives Matter movement, and more, there are countless ways you can acknowledge Black history, joy, creativity, and culture every month of the year.