Yesterday Eric Easter over at EbonyJet.com wrote, “The Black Weblog Awards 2007” which not only discussed the Awards but also gave great insight into the history and evolution of black blogging. It is definately a good read.
These words particuluarly resonated with me:
“If there is any common thread in Black blogs other than the blackness of their writers, it’s an unflinching willingness to aggressively examine and challenge contemporary Black culture.
Also, significantly, that there is a wealth of smart, insightful and witty writing talent – the kind that mainstream publications seem not to be able to find when they seek diversity.”
September 20th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
“If there is any common thread in Black blogs other than the blackness of their writers, it’s an unflinching willingness to aggressively examine and challenge contemporary Black culture.”
That is so, so true. Sites like Afronerd, Invisible Cinema, Undercover Blackman and others are propmoting deep thought and entertainment that stretch beyond the BS images that supposedly represent Blacks in the mainstream media.
September 21st, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Yes it is! I mean so hard to say what part of the article was best, it was all good! It seems as if blacks are perpetuated in the media as one thing or another and that is it. As with all cultures “that” is clearly not “it.” As far as Black imagery in media is concerned most of what is displayed are actually incorrect subcultures, the media still in 2007 fails to portray correct images of Black culture as a whole.
It is funny, I was in graduate school at Savannah College of Art and Design and had to write a thesis for an art class (can’t remember the name of the class off hand but it was a lecture not studio course) and as the only black (which was the case in most of my classes, whole other story) I got this odd feeling that I was expected to write about black images in the media by other students and even the professor, like because I was black people were waiting on me to write that. Of course being the person that I am I ended up writing about something else, lol. I can totally understand where you are coming from about black imagery though, just like most of us don’t like and use technology right?
September 24th, 2007 at 9:28 am
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article t.com Buzzes about Black Bloggers | Black Web 2.0, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.
September 25th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
It sounds like a huge loop, doesn it? Black cuture is represented in a certain way in a media, which trickles down to the people who are expected to say/fee/believe certain viewpoints. As a consumer tech journalist, it always surprises me - which is sad to say - to see another black face at the events…there are just so few of us in the field. As often as I see young Blacks on their iPhones, MacBooks, and iPods, I’m surprised that there are just so many Black writers heading to the music mags. We need to expand our vision.