Assistant Professor at A&T Sparks Viral HillmanTok Movement

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 10, 2025) –Leah Barlow, Ph.D., assistant professor of liberal studies at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, began her spring Introduction to African American History class with a TikTok video introducing herself and outlining the course.

Unbeknownst to Barlow, the video, which was intended solely for her students, garnered the attention of TikTokers around the world – 4.4 million and counting. A surge of courses erupted, from others followed, provoking establishment of a free, online, grassroots motley crew of Black and brown professors and from historically Black colleges and universites.

“I simply got on the internet and decided to share some information with my students and it has blossomed into a number of educators, from Ph.D. educators to K-12, and they’re sharing all kinds of wonderful information,” said Barlow. “Whether you need to learn how to knit or to garden or you need an intro to chemistry class or an intro to African American studies, like what I do, you can find it on HillmanTok.”

Initially, Barlow wasn’t enthused with her new TikTok student followers. The sudden attention caught her by surprise, causing her to rethink the non-conventional method she chose to interact with her actual students.

“My first reaction was shock. I wanted to delete the page immediately. It wasn’t what I was looking for,” she said. “But the more I saw the support, and I saw that people really wanted to learn, I knew I had to share all the information that flows around in my head at any given moment that I’m more than willing to share.”

TikTokers weren’t simply fascinated by Barlow’s insight. They begged for a class of their own. They wanted a reading list. They wanted a syllabus. They even wanted discussion questions. There was no way Barlow could let millions of knowledge-hungry, eager-to-learn, persistent, self-professed students down. 

“What I like to do with my TikTok course is take some small tidbits that I’m not able to share in my regular course and share them on TikTok. We take about 10 minutes and share a little bit of information,” she said. “I discuss things that I know most people won’t know about or talk about. And I’m happy to say that I’ve seen everybody give, almost dissertation-style responses, and I love to see it.

“At first my current students thought it was hilarious, but now they say it’s really interesting. Of course my focus is on them first and foremost. What’s happening on social media is secondary.”

Barlow’s objective is always to connect with her students.

“If I can’t engage with the students, then they aren’t going to be interested. So to the extent that I can, while still holding up the level of rigor that we maintain here at N.C. A&T, I make sure I stay engaged with students any way that I can,” she said.

Barlow’s TikTok syllabus discussion and first mini lecture has garnered a combined total of more than 2 million views. The response has been enormous, with requests for more lectures and discussion. Many appreciate her style of delivery and dedication to intersectional discourse surrounding each topic.

“My [actual] class introduces Black history to the students on this campus. We cannot cover everything, but I try to touch on as much as I can,” she said. “I teach my class a little different. I go backward in time. We start a bit more contemporary looking at popular culture, maybe songs like ‘This is America,’ and music videos and go all the way back to West Africa, Mansa Musa and Timbuktu.”

Barlow’s in-depth analysis stems from her own love of research and Black history, art and culture.

“I love Black performance theory. I’m really into Black art, so my favorite thing is to get students to think theoretically about things that they thought weren’t as deep as they were. But then they realize it really is deep, and let’s talk about it,” she said.

“I’m a researcher at heart, so my job is to find the stories that most people don’t find. For example, for my students, we look at the heart of the photographer of James Van Der Zee of the Harlem Renaissance. We look at love letters during the Civil War. These are the things that help to humanize our experiences and bring history alive.”

Barlow recently spoke with freshman A&T supply chain student and campus podcast host, Philip Colbert III. The two spoke of Barlow’s recent fame, as well as her approach to African American history, her favorite historical figures and more.

“When we come to A&T’s campus and HBCUs nationwide, we get an opportunity to engage more in depth because we’re walking in history as we stand. We are walking on the backs of so many who came before us. HBCU culture is strong in that way. That’s why I love being here and teaching our history here,” said Barlow.