#BlackMenGreetings Reveals Strong Connection Between Brothers

Source: JIM WATSON / Getty

You gotta love Twitter for making the world that once seemed so large, small and comforting. Specifically for Black folks who ultimately just want to connect with one another.

On Saturday the latest trending hashtag was #BlackMenGreetings, started by Dr. Greg Carr, Howard University’s African-American Studies Chair.

“I tweeted my morning encounter because it happens so frequently and with such regularity,” Carr told HelloBeautiful exclusively. “Black men, wherever I’ve traveled in the world consistently greet each other with a tenderness, humility and shared understanding. Extending that courtesy and reinforcing that bond is something we learn from childhood, by observing our fathers, uncles, older siblings and other Black men. It’s origins are a mix of cultural orientation and the shared experience of modern oppressions. And it brings a moment of warm sentiment.”

It’s simple. Black men speak non-verbally in simple gestures and verbally in very few words. What binds them is the struggle and what keeps them close is an unspoken bond of familiarity. For the most part, they see the world through the same lens.

What erupted on Twitter, was a series of common dialogues between Black Men that was on-point, funny and varied by subset of men. From handshakes between friends to Five Percenters’ greetings, the tweets ran the gamut.

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The #BlackMenGreetings hashtag was tweeted over 4,000 times in less than 24 hours and it continues to be a fun trend into this morning. Reactions to the conversation also reveal how Black folks appreciate the connection.

“That morning I felt the happiness I always feel, no matter the moment or the other concerns of the day,” Carr added about the solidarity. “So I paused and tweeted the exchange. And a shower of African men (and women) responded out of our collective experience of a similar feeling. As I tweeted later, we may not be a monolith, but we are a community. This was one nice reminder of how.”

“My mom reminisced how when she dated my dad in 70s, he & friends would do #Blackmengreetings so long, their food would get cold!,” an IvoryRose tweeted. “Reading these #BlackMenGreetings reminds me so much of my fam n friends. Nothing more amazing than a black man #triedandtrue,” user Lovestages said.

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Not sure how long the hashtag will last but we’re loving the message behind it, and hope it continues on in other forms.

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