This past week, Black Twitter and Instagram were taken down memory lane all because of one simple hashtag: #ThanksgivingWithBlackFamilies. Those few words brought together millions of followers to share and poke fun at the good, bad and ugly that happens in their homes over the Thanksgiving holiday. Over 200K comical memes spread across the Internet, leaving Black America falling out of their chairs with laughter, but before the infectious hashtag became a part of everyone’s newsfeed, it started with event curator and content producer Yusuf Muhammad, a normal guy from Philadelphia, just posting for fun like everyone else. Little did he know, he would become a ghostwriter for the largest trending hashtag for the holiday season. Rolling out had a chance catch up with Muhammad to find out his reaction to the hype surrounding the popular hashtag.
Where did the idea spark from to create the hashtag #ThanksgivingWithBlackFamilies on social media?
It came from really seeing the entire timeline talking about how excited they were to eat and be with their families almost a week in advance. I have a nice-sized following, so I just started it up and dropped in about 10 tweets giving examples of my own memories/experiences with my family mixed in. I saw a few more people contribute and about 3-4 hours later it went viral and just kept growing.
Did you have the slightest notion your hashtag was going to capture all of Black social media’s attention?
I had no idea. I have had other hashtags stir up a conversation or get many contributors, but nothing like this one. I saw that it was getting a large reaction from my following, but I didn’t expect it to hit home with so many others all across the U.S.
How did you find out your hashtag was trending?
I didn’t realize it until people started tagging me in articles about it and a few actually looked at who started it and gave me credit. My mentions on all my apps started going off. That’s when I realized how big it had become. Over 1.5 million tweets for it.
What was your initial reaction when you noticed it had spread over Instagram and Twitter?
Really just laughing, because it was so awesome to see how funny we are as Black people and how much we have such a shared experience.
What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving memories with your family growing up as a kid?
I have tons. Appreciate all the new memories, yearly. But the ones I cherish the most are with the family members who are no longer here. Like my one aunt who would constantly roast/joke on me every time she sees me but it was all in love. I genuinely miss that.
Which funny meme’s containing the #ThanksgivingWithBlackFamilies hashtag were the most identifiable for you?
Almost every single one. They all hit home with me, because so many of us have this incredible bond even if we aren’t in the same families. We are clearly family.
Were there any celebrity responses that surprised you?
None that surprised me, per se. But I did see that a few were posting it on their Instagram’s and retweeting them.
Which meme had you laughing the most?
Actually, the one I did about showing up at 4 p.m. because they told you to and nobody is there yet and no food is ready yet. I paired it with a picture of Will Smith standing in an empty living room. That one had me dying.
For more of Yusuf Muhammad’s trending topics, you can follow him on Instagram and Twitter @YusufYuie.
