“Black Celtics Fans are my New Favorite Oxymoron”: Racial Sensemaking, Black Twitter/X, and the Racialization of Space

Since 2020, the U.S. racial reckoning has increased focus on the role of racism across multiple areas of social life, with particular attention to sport and sport organizations. Boston, Massachusetts has remained central to the conversation due to competing legacies of antiBlack racial hostility and social progression. These competing legacies complicate how the city and adjoining institutions are seen and racially understood, contributing to on-going discourse surrounding Blackness and Black fandom for Boston-based organizations – namely the Boston Celtics. Using racial sensemaking as the analytic framework, a thematic analysis of social media posts from Black Twitter/X users were conducted. Findings show that although there is a shared understanding that Boston’s racialized history is inextricably linked to the Celtics, proximity is a key driver in the racial sensemaking process. While fans leverage historical memory for Black pride and racial progression, critics draw upon historical memory connected to racism and bigotry – fueling their interrogation of Blackness and Celtic fandom. Discussion highlights the complex nature of Blackness and the value of digital counterpublics as sites to better understand how sport organizations and host locations are framed by historically oppressed communities.