StayMadAbby: Reframing Affirmative Action Discourse and White Entitlement on Black Twitter

Affirmative Action is a contested concept in the United States (U.S.). Fisher v. the University of Texas (UT) is a key recent case focused on Fisher, a White woman, an alleged victim of discrimination. Fisher spurred online discussion about race as a factor in university admissions. The authors analyzed 13,158 tweets using #StayMadAbby utilizing critical discourse analysis and thematic analysis surrounding Affirmative Action in university admissions. The results and discussion frame Affirmative Action discourse as a racial project. The content of #StayMadAbby demonstrates that social media can connect people experiencing marginalization, encourage discussion, and engender participation as an exercise of collective resiliency.