December 21 usually marks the official start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, a.k .a. the winter solstice. But on Black Twitter, today also marks a hilarious “anniversary” of sorts called the “Negro Solstice,” which is supposed to be when Black people get superpowers.
The jokes and memes began in 2020 after a tweet from user @lottidot, who replied to a thread about the COVID-19 vaccine. She claimed that the vaccine was created so the U.S. government could change Americans’ genetic codes.
When asked how the government would benefit from altering people’s DNA, they replied: “As Black people, genetically, we are stronger and smarter than everyone else. We are more creative. On December 21, our real DNA will be unlocked and majority will be able to do things that we thought were fiction. Learn who [you] are as a people. They wanna make us average.”
Well, Black Twitter had a ball with this right here as it jumpstarted weeks of jokes, memes, and conversations about possible superpowers for Black people everywhere.
Every year since, it’s been a gift that keeps on giving. Check out some of the hilarious social media reactions to this year’s “Negro Solstice.”
First, some made light of X, formerly Twitter, seemingly being down at the start of the day.