North Carolina A&T professor鈥檚 TikTok unintentionally launched 鈥楬illmanTok鈥�

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Due South

North Carolina A&T professor鈥檚 TikTok unintentionally launched 鈥楬illmanTok鈥�

By Leoneda Inge,

Rachel McCarthy

Published March 10, 2025 at 1:07 PM EDT

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University professor Leah Barlow didn鈥檛 set out to inspire a free, online set of lectures and lessons called 鈥淗illmanTok,鈥� after the fictional HBCU in the 1980s TV show 鈥淎 Different World.鈥�

But the TikTok video she posted on January 20, 2025 for the 35 students in her Intro to African American Studies class ended up reaching millions and sparked the community effort.

Barlow talks with Due South's Leoneda Inge about why HillmanTok has resonated for so many in this moment.

Guest

Leah Barlow, liberal studies professor at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Due South

Leoneda Inge

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of 瓜神app's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at 瓜神app as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda鈥檚 work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital 瓜神app Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.

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Rachel McCarthy

Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at 瓜神app as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

See stories by Rachel McCarthy