Blackhogwarts

2018hashtagclassic

Blackhogwarts is a Twitter hashtag from January 2018 that reimagined the Harry Potter universe with predominantly Black characters and culture. Users mashed up wizarding-world scenarios with Black cultural touchstones, and J.K. Rowling endorsed the trend within a day.

Overview

Blackhogwarts is a Twitter hashtag from January 2018 that reimagined the Harry Potter universe as a majority-Black wizarding school. Posts under the tag mashed up specific canon scenes, houses, spells, Platform 9¾, howlers, with Black cultural references like Swag Surfin, cookouts, and family group chats1.

The format was mostly plain text or text paired with a reaction image, usually structured as a hypothetical: 'When [Hogwarts thing happens to a Black student],' followed by a punchline. Outlets covering the trend noted that jokes ranged from lighthearted (dance routines in the Great Hall) to sharper (Snape glossing over slavery in a history lesson)2.

How It Spread

By January 11th the hashtag was one of Twitter's top trending topics. @MrMarcus260 posted a photo of a sunglass-wearing man raising his hand with the caption 'When professor Snape tries to skip over slavery in your history of Muggles class,' pulling roughly 6,900 retweets and 20,000 likes in a day3. @VanThson's take on running through the wall at Platform 9¾ hit about 1,300 retweets, while @Habiba__Ogah's tweet about getting a howler from mom picked up 5,300 retweets and 17,000 likes6.

That evening J.K. Rowling replied to the tag with 'Seeing them and loving them. #BlackHogwarts,' and her post pulled over 20,000 retweets and 67,000 likes in 24 hours4. Twitter then published a Moments page rounding up the top entries3. Write-ups followed from HuffPost5, BuzzFeed2, and Uproxx7, most highlighting the same handful of viral tweets.

How to Use This Meme

A typical Blackhogwarts post sets up a specific Harry Potter beat, a class, a spell, a magical object, then swaps in a Black cultural response for the punchline. Common conventions include the 'When [Hogwarts scenario]: #BlackHogwarts' setup paired with a reaction photo, or short hypotheticals recasting Rowling's world with music, slang, food, and family dynamics drawn from Black experience2.

Frequently Asked Questions