An HBCU-inspired learning space has taken over TikTok. 

Following the looming threat of TikTok being no more, just in time for Black History Month, the TikTok space, inspired by “A Different World,” partly began with Dr. Leah Barlow, a North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University professor. 

Also dropping educational gems was sixth-grade math instructor Cierra Hinton, credited as HillmanTok co-founder. At the same time, other creators have provided their insight on topics like STEM education, health, astrology, biblical studies, and more. With the school’s mascot being a panther, based on the fictional Marvel character Black Panther/T’Challa, more than 400 HillmanTok classes are available on the video platform.

“I commented under one of the videos saying, ‘I love it here!’ because I really do,” Hinton told Essence. “And when I was seeing all of these Black professors flooding my timeline, it felt like being at an HBCU.”

According to “The New York Times,” HillmanTok now has an audience of 16,000 and rising, especially as a website will also be established for ‘student enrollment.’

“I think that this has been in the making,” Dr. Barlow told NYT. “You have accessibility, not just because of TikTok but you also have people who don’t have to be in the ivory tower to have the ability to speak. That is something that I find both beautiful and necessary.”