ABSTRACT
While the topic of #BlackTwitter has received significant media coverage and growing scholarly attention, very little of that attention has taken up the question of what rhetorical features allow it to operate as such a powerful and important space for Black community online. In this chapter, the authors explore those rhetorical features, including the roast or drag, masking, and the clapback. Black Twitter demonstrates the “changing same” in Black rhetorical traditions: built on modes of discourse and persuasive strategies rooted in Black oral traditions and yet constantly shifting more quickly than updated passwords and software. As part of their discussion, the authors consider popular memes based on Denzel Washington and Shirley Caesar.
