Celebrate Black Brilliance on Twitch

History doesn’t just happen. It’s created. And Black Streamers are creating it live every day.

For years Black Creators have played a pivotal role in cultivating a dynamic and dedicated community not just on Twitch, but within gaming as a whole.

They are gamers like deejayknight and cupahnoodle. They are creatives like Imperial and urbanbohemian. They are hosts and commentators like SpawnOnMe. But most importantly they are Creators. They create streams that entertain, captivating storylines in D&D, podcasts that inform, and much more all while pushing the boundaries of online spaces.

So this Black History Month, we want to celebrate Black Brilliance by honoring, uplifting, and recognizing the Black Creators who shape gaming culture and beyond everytime they go live.

Joining us are 30 featured creators and over 100 others to discover through our Black Brilliance Recommended Section on the Front Page. We’re also broadcasting original programming featuring some of the most prominent Black voices across gaming. This includes a custom video series dedicated to Black creators, the Black Indie Developer Showcase, and the HBCU Esports League.

Our goal is for everyone to have a safe, celebratory experience that introduces viewers to some awesome communities. We know more visibility can sometimes lead to unwanted trolling and harassment so we’re offering sessions on mod tools, best practices, and more to every creator participating in our Black History Month celebration. We’ve also implemented a clear escalation process for any creator in need of more support.

Now, here’s a look at who and what is going live when:

| 2/1 | 9:00 AM KangGaming | | 2/2 | 12:00 PM MiladyConfetti | | 2/3 | 4:00 PM PleasantlyTwstd | | 2/4 | 3:00 PM KarimCheese | | 2/5 | 11:00 AM CriticalBard | | 2/5 | 4:00 PM VNogi | | 2/6 | 4:00 PM Kalamity | | 2/7 | 5:00 AM urbanbohemian |

| 2/8 | 6:00 PM MissJourdy | | 2/9 | 3:00 PM xraypc | | 2/9 | 6:00 PM SpawnOnMe | | 2/10 | 11:00 AM TKbreezy | | 2/12 | 4:00 PM sixyBB | | 2/13 | 10:00 AM BadGalShay | | 2/14 | 1:00 PM AlexisAyeee |

| 2/15 | 2:00 PM educated_collins | | 2/16 | 3:00 PM PikaChulita | | 2/17 | 2:00 PM Cupahnoodle | | 2/18 | 4:00 PM codergirlchan | | 2/19 | 2:00 PM uhmaayyze | | 2/20 | 6:00 PM Zombaekillz | | 2/20 | 8:00 PM JennaSaisQuoi | | 2/21 | 9:00 AM kingjae | | 2/21 | 4:00 PM Paccman630 |

| 2/22 | 5:00 PM SenseiCJ | | 2/23 | 5:00 PM BlaqMario | | 2/24 | 7:00 AM mspinky313 | | 2/25 | 6:00 AM BrownGirlGamerCode | | 2/26 | 3:00 PM IntelligameUS | | 2/27 | 8:00 PM BigCheeseKIT | | 2/28 | 12:00 PM Nolay |

(All times PST)

The Weekly // Icons - Thursdays @ 11am PT on /twitchgaming

Every week this February we’ll invite Black luminaries from the world of game and hardware development to be guests on /twitchgaming’s The Weekly. They’ll discuss representation in gaming, barriers that have been removed, and those that remain.

Black Creator Summit - Thursday, February 18th

We believe it’s important to amplify black voices, and to actively listen to them as well. That’s why on February 18th we’re inviting twelve streamers to participate in our Black Brilliance Summit. They’ll speak with Twitch staff about product and safety improvements, hear directly from Twitch COO Sara Clemens on the current state of Twitch, and get insights on streaming tactics.

Black Indie Developer Showcase - Thursday, Feb 25 @ TIME TBD on /twitchgaming

We’re teaming up with The Mix to produce a live show featuring a vast network of indie developers. Game devs will discuss current projects, offer sneak peaks, and talk about the ecosystem of the independent gaming world.

HBCU Esports League - Sundays @ TIME TBD on /cxmmunityco

A partnership between Twitch and Cxmmunity, a non-profit run by HBCU alumni that focuses on STEAM/STEM learning and career development through gaming and esports. Matches are Sundays and Wednesdays on /cxmmunityco and will be featured on the Twitch Front Page. Be sure to tune into the Celebrity Pro-Am event on Feb 21.

Black History Month is a time to celebrate, but it’s also a chance for all of us to be better allies and do more to fight against systemic racism and injustice. That work must continue every single day, both on and off Twitch. On our end we’ve been focused on four key areas:

Exposure: To further recognize the crucial role they’ve played in Twitch and gaming culture, we’re committed to highlighting and promoting Black creators across Twitch. Over the last several months we’ve increased the profile of Black creators in high visibility areas, including front-page placement, on social media, and in our marketing campaigns.
Career Growth & Support: Highlighting Black voices and communities is critical, but it can’t happen in isolation. That’s why over the past year we’ve kicked off a number of mentorship programs designed to help Black creators and other underrepresented groups grow on Twitch. This includes specialized workshops focused on hosting and interviewing, creator summits and our esports partnership with Cxmmunity x HBCUs.
Tools & Moderation: We’ve recently updated our Hateful Conduct and Harassment Policy to take a stronger stance on hate speech, launched new and improved safety tools including Mod View, and improvements to machine learning models that better detect and block offensive usernames. We’ve also created a dedicated team to help remove inherent biases from our technology. We know there’s still work to be done, and we’re continuing to refine our tools and policies to reduce hate and harassment.
Local Community Efforts: We know it’s not just about showing up to be an ally on Twitch – it’s also about showing up IRL in our communities. So this year we’re launching a new program that gives our employees time and resources to partner with organizations benefiting Black communities where we live on a regular and ongoing basis.

And for everyone looking to make a difference with your communities, here’s some ways you can get involved:

Raid and Collaborate with Black creators - Collaborating with other streamers can grow both your streams and also lift up other creators. If you haven’t already, take time to expand your network to include Black creators. We’ve listed some who will be featured this month, but there are many more doing amazing stuff all across Twitch.

Fundraise for Charity - Charity fundraising is a core part of the Twitch community and there are many organizations focused on supporting and uplifting Black people. To get started check out some of these organizations on Tiltify. And for tips on running a successful charity stream, our Creator Camp on Charity Streaming is waiting for you.

Talk to Your Community - 2020 has shown that many of you are willing to have tough conversations with your community. If you haven’t already talked with your community about the importance of Black History Month, Black Lives Matter, and supporting Black creators check out these resources:

Set up Your Channel Rules - Be proactively anti-racist by setting up your channel rules and letting new viewers know you’re building an inclusive community.

Report. Don’t Just Ban - Racism, hateful conduct, and harassment have no place on Twitch, social media, or anywhere else. Please report it to us so that we can continue to take action against those who violate our Community Guidelines and seek to harm our community and creators. If you only ban, without reporting, Twitch doesn’t know what happened.

Supporting Black creators is something that extends beyond one month of the year, so while we celebrate Black History Month with events we hope you’ll enjoy, we hope everyone continues to recognize Black creators who are creating history every time they go live, all year round.

-Twitch

Celebrate Black Brilliance on Twitch

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