Combining a historian’s curiosity and an electrical worker’s intricate familiarity of his territory into sixty-second TikTok, IBEW 15 member Shermann Thomas has gone viral, in a good way.
Using his knowledge backed by research, he covers bits of history in sixty-second videos. From architecture, to cuisine, to taxicab wars, his videos highlight interesting but little known factoids.
His account 6figga_dilla started in November and now has almost 33,000 followers and more than 325,000 likes.
Shermann’s story made the Chicago Tribune front page, Chicago Defender; television segments on WGN’s morning news and WCIU; and radio reports on WBEZ and WVON.
When his daughter introduced him to TikTok last year, Thomas realized he could make an impact by educating others on a topic he grew up loving learning about.
“My eight-year-old daughter showed me the app because she wanted to be the next dancing TikTok star. I suggested that she let me feed her Chicago history facts instead, which she wasn’t too fond of.” His daughter has since pitched in and appeared in some of his videos.
Brother Thomas, who is an Area Operator in downtown Chicago, is the Chairperson for the Chicago Unit Meeting and represents his coworkers as a Steward.