HillmanTok University: How Black educators created a TikTok HBCU

HillmanTok is a way for students of all ages and backgrounds to learn along with an HBCU-like community.

Catch up quick: Leah Barlow, an African American Studies professor at North Carolina A&T State University, created @afamstudies as a resource for her students. Her first video unexpectedly went viral (4.4 million views). Other creators were then inspired to share their knowledge in their own "courses."

By the numbers: The hashtag "HillmanTok" has over 17K total posts.

• "TikTokUniversity" has 744K global posts with over 23K occurring after Barlow's video.

Fun fact: Hillmantok University was coined by Cierra Hinton, a teacher from Augusta, Georgia.

• The name was inspired by the fictional HBCU Hillman College in "The Cosby Show" and "A Different World."
• HillmanTok University now has an official website with over 400 courses and a TikTok account with nearly 400,000 followers.

Here are some notable creators and courses on TikTok:

💸 Personal Finance 101: Guelita Gee, @digitallygee

🤖 AI and Afrofuterism 101: Nadiyah Johnson, @nadiyahjohnson_

🧠 The Psychology of Self-Care, Wellness, and the Black Mental Health Experience: Denise Francis, @livenaturallylove

✍🏽 Screenwriting 101: Shannan E. Johnson, @shannanejohnson

💼 Professional Development 101: Rawan, @iamrawan_

💰 Wealth 101: Kimi Ellen, @numberloverchick

😌 Emotional Intelligence 101: Erin Darden, @erinfdarden

📲 Tech 101: Jen, @CodeCodeWorld