

While you're bored in the house, in the house, bored, everyone is jumping on the TikTok train and it has pulled out of the station faster than social media managers and marketing strategists may have ever expected. According to Vox, "While Spotify streams are down, TikTok appears to have benefited from a nationwide boredom boom, according to some (unconfirmed) numbers."
Journalist Rebecca Jennings continues, "Even anecdotally, people on my Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook feeds who never seemed to have any interest in it before are discovering TikTok (two of them have already gone viral, yes I am jealous), while others are now realizing they might be too into it."
As we mindlessly scroll through our TikTok feed in search of the "next big thing" from DaniLeigh's Levi High Challenge to Megan Thee Stallion's new Captain Hook Challenge, have you taken a second to notice that a lot of these white TikTokers are getting the attention and virality that the Black creators of these TikToks deserve?
A prime example of this is 14-year-old Jalaiah Harmon, also known as the original creator of the Renegade Challenge to K CAMP's "Lottery," which has officially been deemed as the #RenegadeChallenge anthem - at least, the first sixteen seconds of it.
Black girl magic isn't something you can earn or purchase membership into like a country club or Adobe Creative Suite - it's something you're born with and something we're envied for. At the same time, Black girl magic isn't something to be relied on to make everything flavorful and incredible with the wave of our wand. Yes, we're magical, but we're not Tinkerbell. We, as Black women, are either the number one entertainer to be held to a standard from which we can't mess up or come down from, or we're stolen from and never to receive proper accolades. "Black people have been treated unfairly, but if we don't start speaking up more for ourselves, then it will keep happening," Harmon told xoNecole. "We can't wait for anyone else or a bunch of likes to let us know we're good artists. If you work hard, you deserve credit, no matter what color you are!"
Throughout this time, TikTok has been developing a sense of comfort and online community for those who may not be able to spend time with family, friends or roommates. Keara Wilson, the creator of the #SavageChallenge to Meg's latest hit "Savage", which is sweeping the nation and everyone's social media feeds, adds that COVID-19 isn't the only pandemic going on throughout quarantine - introducing the wave of TikToking as a way to promote healthy interaction during social distancing. "People have realized it's fun and easy to use," Wilson explains. "There is so much to see and do. I can just sit, go through the site and laugh at so many different people making home projects, having large discussions; there are just so many different categories to view."
Laurise McMillian also shares her inside perspective as an Instagram strategy editor for Refinery29 and Refinery 29's Unbothered, the entity of Refinery29 specifically crafted for the content consumption of Black millennial women. "The Savage Challenge is the perfect example. Unbothered actually wrote about how 19-year-old Keara and her choreo helped Megan The Stallion's already fire track literally become the new favorite American pastime," Laurise reminisces back to the piece written by Stephanie Long. "It's funny because last year a similar situation happened to Meg, herself when she was on the come-up."
Laurise continues, "Remember when every brand was co-opting 'Hot Girl Summer' in their marketing language? I remember talking with my homegirls about that. I respect Megan Thee Stallion because when 'Savage' happened, she could've easily overlooked its origin, but she embraced Keara with love and credit. That acclaim has been able to help Keara financially, and that's how it should be. I would love to see the two of them really link-up for some sort of project in the future that could help Keara even more." A necessary link-up indeed - TikTok duet anyone?
When it comes time to build the community between our people, namely our sisters, we don't lack when it comes to giving credit to one another - moreso, when it involves receiving credit from those who take from us without giving us so much as a follow-back in return. Everybody wants to be a Black girl until it's time to be a Black girl, am I right? They want our full lips, curvy hips, kinky curly hair and melanated skin, but don't pay homage to us or give us our props when they steal something from us that they're upset they hadn't thought of first. The durag, cornrows, baby hairs - need I continue? "Since the dawn of time," McMillian starts, "Black people have set the standard for 'entertainment'. Whether it be a house slave fiddler 500 years ago, or a Beyonce of today — we are the standard of talent.
"The issue is that just because many Black people are great singers and dancers and ball players, doesn't mean we're jesters here solely to entertain. We're intellectuals, and artists to be respected. Now is the perfect time to support Black TikTokers because it's about damn time society at large respects the people they rely so heavily on for culture," Laurise concludes. Now is not the time to support Black Tik Tokers, YouTubers, bloggers, journalists, etc. - it's been time.
Featured image via Giphy
Eva Marcille On Starring In 'Jason’s Lyric Live' & Being An Audacious Black Woman
Eva Marcille has taken her talents to the stage. The model-turned-actress is starring in her first play, Jason’s Lyric Live alongside Allen Payne, K. Michelle, Treach, and others.
The play, produced by Je’Caryous Johnson, is an adaptation of the film, which starred Allen Payne as Jason and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lyric. Allen reprised his role as Jason for the play and Eva plays Lyric.
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
These 5 Simple Words Changed My Dating Life & Made It Easier To Let Go Of The Wrong Men
Dating in 2025 often feels like meandering through an obscure tropical jungle: It can be beautiful, exciting, and daunting, yet nebulous when you’re in the thick of it. When we can’t see the forest for the trees, we often turn to our closest friends, doting family, and even nosy co-workers for advice. While others can undoubtedly imbue a much-needed fresh perspective, some of the best advice you’re searching for already lies within you.
My dating life has been a whirlwind to put it mildly, and each time I’d heard a questionable response or witnessed an eyebrow-raising action from a potential beau, I’d overanalyze for hours despite the illuminating tug in my spirit or pit of my stomach churning. And then I’d hold a conference call with my trusted friends just to convince myself of an alternative scenario, even though I’d already been supernaturally tipped off that he was not in alignment with me.
Fortunately, five simple words have simplified my dating process and ushered in clarity faster: “Would my husband do this?”
A couple of years ago, I met an entertainment lawyer who was tonguing down a twenty-something-year-old woman for breakfast while I slurped my green smoothie and chomped on a flatbread sandwich. Okay, Black love, I grinned and thought as I sauntered out of the Joe & The Juice. As soon as I stepped down from the front door, a torrential downpour of Miami summer rain cascaded and throttled me back inside to wait out the storm.
I grabbed a hot green tea and vacillated between peering out the wet door and anxiously checking my watch. My lengthy agenda started with attending the Tabitha Brown and Chance Brown’s “Black Love” panel, and I was already late. That’s when the lawyer introduced himself to me, after he made a joke about neither one of us wanting to get soaked by the rain. His female companion had braved the storm, leaving us to find our commonalities.
We both lived in L.A. and had traveled to the American Black Film Festival to expand our network. He represented various artists, including entertainment writers, while I was working as a writer/creative producer in Hollywood.
While there is no shortage of internet advice on how to strategically meet a prominent man at conferences, if I spend my hard-earned funds on career growth, I have tunnel vision, and that doesn’t include finding Mr. Right. So, I stowed his contact details away as strictly professional.
As the humidity and mosquitoes were rising around L.A., two months later, another suitor-turned-terrible match cooled off after three unimpressive dates and a bevy of red flags. I posted what some of my friends called a thirst trap, but it was really me wearing a black freakum jumpsuit with a plunging neckline to my friend’s 35th birthday soiree despite feeling oh, so unsexy and bloated on my cycle.
I’d been waiting to post a sassy caption and finally had the perfect picture to match: “You not asking for too much, you just asking the wrong MF.”
That’s when the entertainment lawyer swooped into my DMs and asked me to dinner. I was quite confused. Is he asking me on a date? Or is this professional? Common sense would’ve picked the former. Once it clicked that this would in fact be a date, I told my mentor, who’s been happily married for over twenty years and has often been a guiding light and has steered me away from the wrong men.
Upon telling him about how we met, he emphatically stated, “He ain’t it.” He followed up with a simple question, "You have to ask yourself: Would my husband do this? Would you tell others that you met your husband, tonguing down another woman, and later married him?"
Ouch. The thought-provoking question cleared any haze. Prior to going out with the lawyer, the first thing I inquired about was the woman.
“You saw that?” He said, taken aback that I’d witnessed his steamy PDA. Surely, anyone with two open eyes peeped him caressing her backside as he kissed her in the middle of the coffee shop.
He brushed her off as a casual someone he’d gone on a couple of dates with but had since stopped talking to. He said he hadn’t been in a serious relationship in over three years. Though I was still doubtful, dating in L.A. is treacherous and ephemeral. Making it past three months is considered a rarity.
With my antennae alert, I dined with him at a cozy beachside steakhouse restaurant where we were serenaded by a live jazz band. I’d emphasized forming a platonic friendship first.
“I’ll come to you,” he obliged. I liked that he had made me a priority by driving over 50 miles to see me. I also liked the effort he made to check in with me daily. But I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he initiated on a professional pretense and then alley hooped through the back door on a romantic venture, which bombarded me with confusion.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my dating life, God is not the author of confusion; any man who brings confusion, rather than clarity, is simply not The One. It doesn’t matter how many boxes he checks–eventually, that confusion will manifest itself into bigger problems, in time.
After diving into deeper conversations on the phone, post our first dinner date, I quickly realized this man was indeed not The One for me. But I’m grateful for the valuable lesson I learned.
I don’t expect some unattainable fairytale of a husband; we all have our own flaws and conflict is inevitable, but after dating for two decades, through failure and success, I’ve realized that the person I ultimately marry must mirror the values I exert into the world. He must reciprocate kindness, patience, and respect. He must be quick to listen and slow to respond. He needs to be forgiving and trustworthy, practice healthy communication, and be a man of his word at the bare minimum.
If I’d had “Would my husband do this?” in my toolbox when I was dating and floundering in stagnant relationships, in my twenties, it would’ve saved me a lot of precious time. But now that I’m equipped with the reminder, it’s allowed me to ground myself in my non-negotiables and set/maintain the standard for the special person, I’ll one day say, “I do,” to.
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