The digital divide provided an online presence to more privileged groups as the internet became more widely used. Due to this, other groups, such as the African American community, entered this space with an uphill battle before them.
The internet was outright flooded with white bloggers. Other voices were not recognized or taken as seriously. It is this form of cultural hegemony, where the world view on the internet was shaped by predominantly white people, that led to the manifestation of the Afrosphere.
The Afrosphere is a movement where black bloggers aim to find and deliver their voice in a world dominated by white bloggers. Within this movement arrived the AfroSpear, a web community where over 100 prominent black blogger voices can be found.
Lisa Nakamura, author of the book Digitizing Race, states, "The development of the Internet has been such that visuality has become a form of representation widely available to users as producers only relatively recently".
The internet was outright flooded with white bloggers. Other voices were not recognized or taken as seriously. It is this form of cultural hegemony, where the world view on the internet was shaped by predominantly white people, that led to the manifestation of the Afrosphere.
The Afrosphere is a movement where black bloggers aim to find and deliver their voice in a world dominated by white bloggers. Within this movement arrived the AfroSpear, a web community where over 100 prominent black blogger voices can be found.
Lisa Nakamura, author of the book Digitizing Race, states, "The development of the Internet has been such that visuality has become a form of representation widely available to users as producers only relatively recently".
The Afrosphere movement began in relatively recent history in the year 2006. In his post about the history of the Afrosphere, prominent black blogger Francis L. Holland states, "In spite of the demands by Blacks for inclusion in the white blogosphere, in 2006 white bloggers met in the middle of the an historic black community of Harlem, N.Y. with former President Bill Clinton, to discuss politics but did not include the participation of a single Black blogger. Many black bloggers considered this an insult to black bloggers and to black communities." |
The concept of a Whiteosphere and a Blackosphere was introduced in an essay by Francis L. Holland, published on February 15, 2007. This launched the idea of a divided Blogosphere into an ongoing conversation, and was utilized for continued critique of the imbalance in online voices being heard.
In a blog post by Sikivu Hutchinson, she details this divide at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Hutchinson writes, "Although bloggers have been admitted to the Convention in record numbers...black bloggers represent a mere 7.2% of those attending". This means that very few black bloggers were afforded the opportunity to share in the moment of America's first black presidential nomination, and that the majority of the anecdotal commentary on the event was presented by white bloggers. This is but another example of shaping the worldview through the eyes of one dominant group. Even when that group is not the story, they are ultimately the ones making it.
In a journal by Catherine Knight Steele, she states, "Blogs are often considered a form of self-expression similar to that of journaling. This occurs mainly because the initial structure of blogs resembled that of a personal diary". This is in essence why it is so important to include black voices in blogging among the sea of white voices. Exclusion of black voices will result in archival silence, which means there would be huge gaps in America's history. There is no complete history without including the thoughts of a nation's people. It is one thing to be ignored, but it is another to not even be invited to the party.
Black people are very aware of this. Prominent bloggers speak about the importance of their voice throughout this interview conducted in 2011. There is more at stake than representation in media, but issues involving legislation and the community as a whole. Including black voices helps people to arrive at more informed decisions.
The fight for inclusion may not soon be over. While there are more people who will listen and acknowledge this in present day, that doesn't change the fact that white people are still the dominant group that remains in control. In the meantime, black voices will continue to fight for their right to be heard.
Nick's Website
In a journal by Catherine Knight Steele, she states, "Blogs are often considered a form of self-expression similar to that of journaling. This occurs mainly because the initial structure of blogs resembled that of a personal diary". This is in essence why it is so important to include black voices in blogging among the sea of white voices. Exclusion of black voices will result in archival silence, which means there would be huge gaps in America's history. There is no complete history without including the thoughts of a nation's people. It is one thing to be ignored, but it is another to not even be invited to the party.
Black people are very aware of this. Prominent bloggers speak about the importance of their voice throughout this interview conducted in 2011. There is more at stake than representation in media, but issues involving legislation and the community as a whole. Including black voices helps people to arrive at more informed decisions.
The fight for inclusion may not soon be over. While there are more people who will listen and acknowledge this in present day, that doesn't change the fact that white people are still the dominant group that remains in control. In the meantime, black voices will continue to fight for their right to be heard.
Nick's Website