Classes are officially in session on Hillman Tok! North Carolina A&T University professor Dr. Leah Barlow kicked off the movement when she posted the coursework to her African American studies class on TikTok, and many professors began to follow suit. This movement soon became known as #TikTokUniversity.

After seeing an influx of Black professors sharing their coursework, including on TikTok, inspired sixth-grade math teacher Cierra Hinton to make a reaction video to Dr. Barlow’s original video praising her and other professors for helping people learn regardless of location. After seeing Hinton’s reaction video, many people began to follow suit.

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

Like Hinton, many other TikTok users agreed that the movement felt like attending a virtual HBCU; thus, Hillman Tok was born. Inspired by the fictional HBCU from the popular sitcom ‘A Different World,’ Hillman Tok has taken over TikTok. The movement has gained a large following and has over 100 million mentions. Numerous professors from all subject matters began sharing their own courses under Hill Tok University.

Hinton and Hillman Tok have received an outpouring of support from people all over TikTok. Hillman Tok is continuing to grow and gain popularity. Hinton has dedicated a TikTok page just for Hillman Tok and has bought the domain rights for the official website. Hinton has also chosen a mascot and emblem for the school.

“The colors are inspired by Hillman’s yellow and maroon colorway,” she explains. “And we have a panther as our mascot because I love T’Challa.”

More than 400 courses are being offered on Hillman Tok, and students who are interested can sign up on the website.

Hillman College is one of the most popular fictional colleges on television. ‘A Different World’ inspired generations of students to attend an HBCU. Although the show ended in 1993, Netflix announced a reboot for the popular series. The show will follow Whitney and Dwayne’s daughter as she follows in her parents’ footsteps and attends Hillman College. Viewers can stream ‘A Different World’ on Netflix starting today.