This week on Tiktok, The Black Girl Follow Train took
off!In this video, I discuss why this
grassroots social media project was necessary, what I hope the participants
gain from it, and what I really think is the answer when it comes to Black
women's success as content creators. Thanks for watching!
0:00 Intro
0:48 What is The Black Girl Follow Train?
1:47 Difficulties of Black Creators on Social Media
3:50 Black Creators and Money on Social Media
6:09 Social Media Creators and Mental Health...and money lol
11:59 The Inevitable Pushback
14:46 I Didn't Participate...here's why
17:07 What Happens Next?
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents three YouTube videos and excerpts of two online articles about the "Black Girl Follow Train", a TikTok trend that began in late December 2022.
The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to momtotheking, the creator of this Tik Tok trend, and thanks to the vloggers and Tik Yokers whose videos and TikTok clips are showcased in this post. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. -snip- DISCLAIMER The content of this pancocojams post is presented to document this TikTok trend. As a Black woman, I approve of the call for Black TikTokers to support each other. However, I disapprove of the use of the names "Karen" and "Becky" as referents for White women. I consider those names used that way to be pejorative.
I read several comments that used those referents in some discussion threads for this "Black Girl Follow Train" trend. However, I didn't compile those comments and they may not have been included in the YouTube discussion threads for the videos that are showcased in this pancocojams post.
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - Black Girl Follow Train On #Tiktok #Trending
#blackgirlfollowtrain @Empressonyxx #Empressonyxx
Simply Ramona, Dec 30, 2022
**** EXCERPT #3 - BLACK GIRL FOLLOW TRAIN has been SABOTAGED… why am I not shocked?!
[WARNING - Profanity is used near the end of this video.]
Dumebi Lea, Jan 7,
2023
****
EXCERPTS OF TWO ONLINE ARTICLE ABOUT TIK TOK'S BLACK GIRL FOLLOW TRAIN
Pancocojams Editor's Note: These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only. These excerpts don't include any photographs or Tik Tok clips.
All Aboard! The #BlackGirlFollowTrain Trend Is Taking Over
TikTok
Pretty Honore, Jan. 10, 2023
…"What is the
Black girl follow train on TikTok? The trend explained.
If you have ever been forced to type the phrase “for Black
girls” at the end of your Pinterest, YouTube, or Google search, this one’s for
you. You see, finding content that caters to women in the Black community can
be difficult given the massive amounts of information on the internet. This is
exactly why the Black girl follow train was created.
Started by TikToker @momtotheking,
#blackgirlfollowtrain rose to popularity in late 2022. In her original video,
she uses the text-to-talk feature to say, “This one’s for the Black girls.”
“If you’re a woman and you’re Black, I’m following you
back,” the video adds alongside audio of Glorilla’s “FNF.” And
participating in the trend definitely paid off for more than a few users, who
gained thousands of followers as a result.
[…]
The #blackgirlfollowtrain movement has since inspired
several other hashtags like #blackwomanfollowtrain and #blackgirlfollowtrend.
The main hashtag has garnered more than 244 million views to
date — but not everyone’s happy about it. Following the trend’s viral success,
a couple of Karens took to TikTok to share their thoughts.
Karens of
TikTok banded against the viral #blackgirlfollowtrain trend.
According to the Karens of TikTok, BET, Black History Month,
and Affirmative Action have successfully eliminated the need for a trend like
#blackgirlfollowtrain. This prompted a number of responses from Black creators
who explained why they were both loud and wrong.
“The pushback that we’re seeing on the Black girl follow
train has been very emblematic of white feminism,” TikTok user Victoria
Alexander shared in a video with more than 150,000 likes as of this writing.
“Not feminism,” she added, “white feminism.”
“So, on this app, we’ll have Black women or women of color
say that they don’t get the same PR or the same perks on this app that white
creators have. And then some white creators will say, ‘Yeah, you know what,
that’s right, and it’s not fair.'”
However, Victoria pointed out, this effort to amplify Black
creators' voices has left some users “annoyed,” which, in and of itself is
problematic.
“White women get to be the center of positive attention on
this app all the time,” she went on. “When you’re used to being privileged,
equality — or anything close to it — feels like oppression.”
We couldn’t have said it better." -snip- "Karen" is a female name that is widely used on social media as a pejorative referent for White woman (and sometimes also for White men.)
The bold font and larger font for the sections is is how this article was written online.
#BLACKGIRLFOLLOWTRAIN IS FULL STEAM AHEAD ON TIKTOK, SOME
USERS ARE TRYING TO DERAIL IT, CALLING IT RACIST
Stacy Jackson, January 6, 2023 "Black women creators are gracing the algorithm, and their
followings are skyrocketing.
A recent trend on TikTok, known as the
#BlackGirlFollowTrain, has grown rapidly where Black women are following other
Black women back on the app in an effort to support each other, build
community, and find compatible content.
According to sources, @momtotheking is the creator of the
trend that quickly became one of the top hashtags on the popular app, and Black
women went digging to find her, to ensure their sis got her credit.
Although the movement has nothing to do with bashing anyone
else, some white users were not happy about the trend, calling it racist.
One Black user, @thewokemama, posted a video showing a white
user in tears, complaining about the Black women who have been banding together
on the app.
“I have been seeing this trend on TikTok about skin color,”
the white woman said in her video. “Join me if you’re Black. Join the Black
girl train. What if I got on there and said join the white girl train?”
[…]
However, other white users have backed the trend against the
critics.
[…]
The original creator previously took to her page in December
to address the negative controversies that had transpired around the trend.
“So you’re excluding showing love and support to non-Black
women and that’s uniting women,” one user replied , questioning one of
@momtotheking ‘s videos about her Black girl trend.
“It’s simple to not put yourself in business where it
[doesn’t] belong,” @momtotheking captioned a video responding to the user’s
comment and reiterating her initial intentions to unite the Black women.
[…]
The hashtag has made such an impact on the app, other groups
of people have tried to inherit their own following trains such as the
#latinafollowtrain, #blackmenfollowtrain, and the #followtrain that has been
circulating for those who aren’t specifying a group.”
Alexandra Stadium - located in Johannesburg, South Africa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Stadium_(South_Africa) -snip- Total # of views as of Nov. 13, 2022 at 10:44 AM ET =748,517
Total # of views as of November 14, 2022at 8:47 AM ET = 749,406
"Cellular" = Cellular connection for mobile telephones (what people in the United States refer to as "cell phones")
"ishoooooo mntanami" in the title for this YouTube video = "say baby" [Xhosa "isho" & mntanami" = Xhosa word for "baby", "child" ]
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest update - Nov. 14, 2022
This
pancocojams post provides information about the meaning of the isiXhosa word "gwijo".
This post presents some information about the gwijo group "Gwijo Avenue".
This post also showcases the original YouTube video about Gwijo Avenue's 2022 viral gwijo entitled "Cellular" . This post also showcases a TikTok compilation of that gwijo.
Two YouTube examples of the gwijo "Cellular" are also included in this post along with those lyrics from those videos' captions. English translations of the words from Zulu and Sesotho are also included in this pancocojams post.
This post also includes selected comments from the original Gwijo Avenue video.
The content of this post is presented for cultural and entertainment purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the Gwijo Avenue for their music and thanks to all those who are associated with those videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on gwijos*. Click the gwijos tag below for more pancocojams posts on this subject.
-snip-
DISCLAIMER:
I am African American and unfortunately don't know any other languages but English.
The English translations for the Xhosa and Sesotho words that are included in this post are from either Google translate or from https://africtionary.com.
Additions and corrections for the content in this post are very welcome.
**
The spelling "gwijos" ['gwijo" with an s" at the end] is an English language plural form of that Xhosa word." "AmaGwijo" is the Xhosa plural form for "igwijo" (gwijo)
Although the word "gwijos" is incorrect in isiXhosa, I've seen it used in a number of YouTube discussion thread comments about a particular gwijo or about more than one gwijo. Consequently, I sometimes use the word "gwijos" in pancocojams posts on this subject.
-snip-
..."Amagwijo is a particular Xhosa practice of collective singing deeply embedded in African culture. It takes the form of call and response (“I say something//You say something I hear you//You hear me. We’re in dialogue together”). Because Gwijo uses no instruments (other than the voice), it could be described as a cappella. For the amaXhosa people of South Africa, Gwijo songs have traditionally been sung to accompany weddings, funerals, initiations and other rites of passage and sacred moments.
Part of these songs’ potency resides in their being so cathartic across a range of human emotions: they can express joy, determination and victory, but also devastation. A Gwijo ‘performance’ can celebrate, protest, resist or reclaim. Ultimately though, it draws on the power of the collective to attain a kind of fierce grace, a coming together in intensity.
[...]
In South Africa, Gwijo is becoming pervasive at sporting events. It seems to have been born, at least partially, out of an instinct for harmonising discordant energies in the national history and culture. You see, sporting events in South Africa have a history of being segregated and racially charged.
Enter the Gwijo Squad, who turn up to rugby and cricket events to reclaim a sense of shared ownership and create safety. The Gwijo effect in stadiums fosters belonging, raises feel-good energy, and, ultimately imbues the sporting fixture with a sense of communal joy."... -snip- Pancocojams Editor's Note: Since 2019, loosely organized groups of Black South African males have been singing gwijos during South African sporting events. Some of these gwijos are traditional songs, or South African struggle songs (apartheid protest songs), or newly composed songs such as Gwijo Avenue's 2022 song "Cellular".
Additions and corrections are welcome.
**** INFORMATION ABOUT GWIJO AVENUE [Added Nov. 14, 2022]
Gwijo Avenue's February 2022 originally composed song "Cellular" went viral on YouTube shortly after its publication on YouTube. Several TikTok challenge compilations helped that song gain a world wide audience who turned to YouTube to see and hear the complete song. The April 4, 2021 TikTok compilation that is given in this pancocojams post appears to be the earliest Tik Tol compilation of Gwijo Avenue's "Cellular" that is reposted on YouTube.
"Cellular - Gwijo (Cred:pongolaJuventas)πππππ"is another YouTube video of a group of South African men singing Gwijo Avenue's "Cellular". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwsBp7fsY10
That video was published by SA Trend Line, March 29, 2021 and has 51,468 as of Nov. 14, 2022 at 10:57 AM ET
As of this date (Nov. 14, 2022), Gwijo Avenue doesn't appear to have any recording contracts or any published records. However, if quality and YouTube/TikTok stats are criteria, those recording contracts and published records should certainly be Gwijo Avenue's immediate future.
What do South Africans sing about? Anything and everything
it would seem... including cellular connection.
Since its release, this original gwijo (song) by Gwijo
Avenue (please check out their channel) has been doing the rounds and going
viral on many social media platforms including TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
Now you can understand what they're saying.
Credits: Gwijo Avenue (YouTube / Tiktok)
Languages: isiZulu x SeSotho. -snip- Here are the lyrics and their English translations in italics (Both are given in captions in that video)
Hai wena, cellular No man, cellular connection
Cellular, cellular, cellular
Hai wena, cellular No man, cellular connection
Ong’gopotse, my baby, yhoo You miss me, my baby
Hai wena, Cellular (cellular) No man, cellular connection
Cellular, cellular, cellular
Hai wena, cellular No man, cellular connection
Cellular, ong’gopotsemoratuwa Cellular, you make me miss/ remind me of my love
Hai wena,Cellular (cellular) No man, cellular connection
Cellular,cellular, cellular [Repeat]
Hai wena,Cellular (cellular) No man, cellular connection
Hai wena,Cellular (cellular) No man, cellular connection
Haa haa ha
Hai wena,Cellular (cellular) No man, cellular connection
Yoh, yho, yoh
Hai wena,Cellular (cellular) No man, cellular connection
Cellular,cellular, cellular
Hai wena,Cellular (cellular) No man, cellular connection
Cellular, ong’gopotsemoratuwa Cellular, you make me miss/ remind me of my love
Hai wena,Cellular (cellular) No man, cellular connection -snip- Captions end at about 1:30 in this video although the video continues to 4:12. The singers repeat the lyrics that have already been given.
The GwijoTube channel provides gwijo videos, lyrics, and translations.
I'm not sure what "no man, cellular connection" means in standard American English.
My guess is that line means "Oh, man*. I lost my cellular connection. (My cell phone isn't working because it lost its cellular connection.) *The words "Oh, man" are said with exasperation and/or anger. In that sense, the words Cellular, ong’gopotsemoratuwa mean "Cellular, you make me miss my love" (miss talking to my love, or miss phone calls from my love.) -snip- "Cellular - Gwijo (Cred:pongolaJuventas)πππππ"is another YouTube video of a group of South African men singing Gwijo Avenue's "Cellular". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwsBp7fsY10 . That video shows a group of football (soccer) players standing and singing outdoors. A comment from that YouTube video's discussion thread includes the repeated line in their version of "Cellular": " ring ring hello my baby".
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 : MUSIC LYRICS SA TRANSCRIPTIONππ
MUSIC LYRICS SA, Mar 18, 2022 -snip- Here's the words that are given in captions for this same Gwijo Avenue video: [This is a slightly different transcription and translation from that given in Showcase Video #2.]
Hai wena Hai wena Hai wena cellular Cellular Hai wena Haibo! Hei! Yo! Hai wena cellular Cellular Hai wena Ha! Ha! Hai Hai wena cellular Cellular Hai wena Cellular Cellular Cellular Hai wena cellular Hai wena Cellular U Hopotse Moratiwa Hai wena cellular Cellular Hai wena cellular Cellular Hai wena cellular Hai wena Cellular U Hopotse Moratiwa Hai wena cellular Cellular Hai wena cellular Cellular Cellular
-snip- Here are the English translations for the South African words in this gwijo (from Google translate and https://africtionary.com [insert the word to be translated]
Additions and corrections are welcome
Hai wena - Zulu & Sotho -"Hey you" ; Xhosa - "Hi you"
Haibo - "an expression of surprise or shock (basically
means wow), mostly used by Xhosa speaking people."
Hei! - Zulu, Xhosa, & Sotho = "Hey!" U Hopotse Moratiwa - Sotho: “Remember You Beloved”
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #4 : Cellular Most Liked TikTok challenges so farπ₯π₯ @Gwijo Avenue
TIKTOK 7TRENDZ, April 4, 2022 -snip- total # of views as of10:01AmEt = 50, 721
**** SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE YOUTUBE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR THIS SHOWCASE VIDEO
All of these comments are from 2022 and are given in chronological order with the oldest comments given first, except for replies*.
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
*Full disclosure: I couldn't resist adding a reply that I wrote to this compilation.
1. Helena Kambongela "π❤ππ₯
A WHOLE HIT THIS ONE"
** 2. ΓΓ΅ΕΌΓ¦Ε Mπ "You killed it guys!!❤"
** 3. Thisisit World "Jus arrived, all the way from the
streets of tictok
These gents yoooohππ₯"
** 4. kgomotso boikanyo "Tshepoπ₯π₯"
** Reply 5. P Ma Mbongwe "Which one is Tshepo?"
** Reply 6. Sarah Chabalala " @P Ma Mbongwe the one in a light blue shirt" -snip- In the comment given as #31 in this compilation and in some other YouTube comments that I've read, Tshepo is also called "Kool Musiq". He is often the lead singer for this Gwijo group.
** 7. jonathan "this group is my favorite gwijo groupπ❤❤"
** Reply 8. Azizi Powell "@jonathan, I agree. I'm an African
American sister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA & I'm binge watching
videos of this group. I love gwijos!!!
Is "Gwijo Avenue" the name of
this gwijo group?
I think the group's name should be
listed in the title of each video before the name of the song that is being
showcased. Also, it would be great if
the names of each member of the group would be given in the summary of the
videos.
Since gwijos are being introduced to the
world via YouTube, TikTok, and other online sites, an increasing number of
people aren't going to understand the words that gwijo groups sing. It would also be great if the song lyrics in
Xhosa or in other South African languages were included in these videos'
summaries.. Those lyrics can then be translated into English and other
languages that readers know.
I think these suggestions would help
spread gwijos to the world.
Peace and more power to you!"
** 9. Bianca Matty "All the way from TikTok to come see the full video π u the best
guys ❤️❤️"
** 10. Logun Kuka "For the love of tiktok we're
accidentally here"
** 11. ShaquileMbongeni Mpofu "Only those who didn't come from tiktok
are worthy of liking this"
** 12. Mandy Malenzi "Chaaaaai lead singer and the siren guy kkkkkk"
** 13. Bianca Matty "All the way from TikTok to come see the full video π u the best guys ❤️❤️"
** 14. Hyuri Salvador "You guys sound like choir in church
Edit: 2:51 For those who are from TikTok"
** 15. Dr CST "I am waiting for a piano song from this"
** 16. Simbah M ™ The Designer "This song should be recorded in Mapiano version" -snip- "Piano" and "mapiano" refer to the very popular contemporary South African genre of music called "amapiano". Amapiano has spread to other African nations and is sometimes combined with Nigeria's Afrobeats music.
** 17. Tshiamo Maphoto "Cellular is now in my class everytime the teacher goes out its Cellular π ππbut they killed it"
** 18. Lykho. "we singing it everywhere dankooooooooooo
π thanksdocthanksdoc"
** 19. Lehlohonolo Khoaeane "The guy with the black hat guysππ€π₯Ίhe
came out of nowhere and killed it❤️my no 1 song rnπ€his voice healsπ€" -snip- It would be awful if the names of these singers weren't recorded in the historical record.
In their YouTube video entitled "Bamthathile Ubaby | The day we discovered Jomo the Raw Gem" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNqCUaBnxF0?v=GNqCUaBnxF0Gwijo Avenue's members wear white tee shirts with their individual names. Based on a screen shot (around 3:34) in that video, I think that Nhlivo is the name of the lead singer who wore a black hat and a black and gold jacket in the original Gwijo Avenue video for their viral song "Cellular".
** 20. Hosia Mahlatsi "South Africa is a wonderful country π₯π₯☺️☺️♥️♥️
I'm reminded of the best days (School
Days) free period"
** 21. black X Tiger real "Where ever I go at school tik Tok or
anywhere I hear this song and I love it because we get to hear that the gwijo
is getting bigger"
** 22. Thandi Kariko "The guy in the black hat can sing gives
me goosebumps πΏπ¦π³π¦"
** 23. Lathitha "South Africans a crazy bunch ❤️ππΏπ¦
we can sing about anything ππππ"
** 24. abhinash ghale "I don't hate tiktok because sometimes it
leads us to this kind of gems..."
** 25. Yamete Kudasai "Imagine this everywhere. People just vibing, singing, and
enjoying rather than hating each other or waging wars. It'll be a hopeless
dream, but i hope we can get there someday.
Nice voice guys! Keep it up! ☺️"
** 26. mbali mndebela "That "ong'gopotsa ma baby yooooh"ππnvm the incorrect spelling, I'm zulu speaking Idk how to type sotho/pedi/tswana"
** 27. Mamanee Grace "Tik tok brought me here,you killing it guys,keep
it up"
** 28. Intamequ International "Big thanks to the camera man
Wouldn’t want to miss this for the world
π"
** 29. Gift Musila "Straight from tiktok to hereππ"
** Reply 30. Owen Masango "The 40…50 second videos were not doing me justice πππΏππΏ"
** 31. My Opinion "Koolmuziq doing that ''huh huh'', even
the camera man laughed. Eish."
** 30. Kalvin Kosha "This π₯. Hands down."
** 31. NTWANANO DEE NZIANE "Cellular issa banger ππΎππΎππππ―π―π―ππΎππΎπππ"
** 32. Monica Schmitz "LOVE IT π π»
π"
** 33. Libokazi Mbandezelo "yhoo guyz his song mhmmmm"
** 34. Luminathi Amkelorh "Oooh you guys are amazing ♥️♥️♥️♥️and on π₯
π₯
π₯
π₯"
** 35. SabZz4life "2:48 the one in the yellow cap did thatπ₯"
** 36. Samkelisiwe Prosperity Dlamini "The guy in a black hat the moment he starts singing high
turnerπ₯π₯π₯π₯❤️πthe
goosebumps"
** 37. Mpendulo Mdlalose (king) "Love this song"
** 38. Olivia Naidoo "Love this song , I can listen to this the whole day , Well
done guys ❤️"
** 39. Nelisiwe Ngubane "This is beautiful πππ"
** 40. Don _cashment "Issa vibe ❤️"
** 41. BRIGITHA NDAMBU "For the love of soccer ❤❤❤
Nothing will stop me from loving soccer π₯❤"
** 42. Aaron Lamula "honest, the guy wearing black and gold can sing π₯π₯π₯π"
