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Black Girl Magic (#BlackGirlMagic) is a concept and movement that was popularized by CaShawn Thompson in 2013.^[1] The concept was born as a way to "celebrate the beauty, power and resilience of black women," as described by Julee Wilson from The Huffington Post,^[2] and to congratulate black women on their accomplishments.^[3] Referring to a speech made by Michelle Obama at the 'Black Girls Rock' Awards, Thompson explains that it is the black women around the world who persevere despite the adversity they face, that inspired her to spread the concept of Black Girl Magic.^[1] And so, with these women in mind, she created the social media hashtag, clothing campaign, and rally cry "Black Girl Magic", in the hopes that it would counteract the negativity that society places on black women.^[4] While the movement currently lives mostly online, the formation of communities centered around the idea of mutual disenfranchisement is something that many women of color have been doing for years.^[5]

In 2013, Thompson coined the phrase via the hashtag #BlackGirlsAreMagic, now shortened to #BlackGirlMagic, in an attempt to create an online dialogue centered around the achievements of black women in a society that historically has recognized very few of these achievements.^[1] Since being popularized, one can find the hashtag being used on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media and mainstream media platforms, celebrating positive messages and images of black all across the globe.

In January 2014, Thompson began selling t-shirts sporting the "Black Girls Are Magic" logo that she had created with her friend.^[1] At the time, Thompson only meant to sell these shirts to her friends and family, but has since sold over 3,000 T-shirts through her Teespring account.^[6] While the popularity of the shirts started among active social media users, Thompson was quickly surprised to see that people were also buying them as gifts for granddaughters, daughters, and nieces, as they felt that the message was encouraging for young girls too.

The shirts have also gained some celebrity recognition, with prominent young black women such as Willow Smith and Amandla Stenberg posting pictures of themselves in their Black Girls Are Magic gear on various social media platforms.^[1]

Why Black Girl "Magic"?

“I say ‘magic’ because it’s something that people don’t always understand,” Thompson said in a phone interview with The Times. She then goes on to explain how “Sometimes our accomplishments might seem to come out of thin air, because a lot of times, the only people supporting us are other black women.” At it's heart, the point of this movement is to create a platform where women of color can stand together against stereotyping, colourism, misogynoir and racism that is often their lived experience.^[1]

As its usage has grown, the concept has also drawn criticism from women of all races.^[5]

The hashtag #BlackGirlMagic has since been met with a counter hashtag, #WhiteGirlMagic. While used in a number of different ways, some of which have been positive, this counter hashtag has mainly been used "with a provocative edge, as if to suggest that Black Girl magic placed a needless focus on race" as explained in an article on BBC Trending.

While many black women support the concept of Black Girl Magic, there are also those who feel that the concept reinforces the "strong black woman" archetype that black women are often confronted with. In an article for Elle Magazine, Linda Chavers explains ways in which movement suggests that black women are superhuman, or something other than human.^[7] She goes on to explain how, historically, black women have been seen and treated as subhuman beings and how the idea of a black women persevering despite her suffering, is the epitome of the strong black women type that is so often celebrated while simultaneously being criticized in today's culture.^[7]

• Carefree Black Girls

[[Category:English phrases]] [[Category:Cultural concepts]] [[Category:Words coined in the 2010s]] [[Category:Internet culture]] [[Category:Gender studies]] [[Category:African-American studies]]