Buzzfeed launched a new social brand this week called Cocoa Butter (yes, that kind of cocoa butter). Cocoa Butter‘s purpose is to better distribute black content to Buzzfeed’s audience, an audience that’s mostly made up of white millennials. One of the core writers and co-hosts of the podcast “Another Round,” Tracy LaFway Clayton, took to Twitter to further explain the need for Cocoa Butter.

so! some folks have noticed a new buzzfeed thing called @cocoabutterbf. id like to explain what it is by first explaining what it isnt

— tracy clayton jr the 3rd (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015

it is NOT "black buzzfeed" or buzzfeed for black people. when i interviewed with jonah he asked if he thought we needed a separate +

— tracy clayton jr the 3rd (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015

vertical for black content and we both agreed that that isn't the answer. sectioning off black content causes more probs than it solves

— tracy clayton jr the 3rd (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015

my biggest thing has always been the integration of black content into the whole of the site rather than throwing us in a corner

— tracy clayton jr the 3rd (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015

and leaving us to entertain ourselves. so that is emphatically not what this is. i wldnt be a part of that.

— tracy clayton jr the 3rd (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015

what this IS is an extension of a group of dope ass ppl who got together of their own volition to create content relevant to their interests

— tracy clayton jr the 3rd (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015

as most of those people are black, the content we create has to do with black things, blackness, black issues, etc.

— tracy clayton jr the 3rd (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015

now the thing is, buzzfeed, as diverse as it is, is still a white ass site. no one here will disagree with that

— tracy clayton jr the 3rd (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015

and our audience is oooooooooooverwhelmingly white which means that the dope ass shit we do make is tough to circulate and get seen

— tracy clayton jr the 3rd (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015

so to recap: buzzfeed stays the same. we will do what we've been doing. cocoabutter is a way to distribute our stuff via social.

— tracy clayton jr the 3rd (@brokeymcpoverty) July 14, 2015

Read a longer explanation here.

What do you think about Buzzfeed’s new outlet for getting Black writer’s content to the web?

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