Vlogger Pam Newman of Louisville, Kentucky posted a video on Vimeo last week that asked a provocative question: “Where are the Black People on Vimeo?” Needless to say, she got a lot of comments! Many, of course, from other people on Vimeo who identify as black — and not strictly African-American. YouTube heavyweight Renetto also broached the question a few months ago about that service.
It’s an important question to ask. African-Americans have not always been portrayed in the best light by mainstream media, if their lives and culture were reflected at all. If you look at the popular lip dub clip produced by the team at Connected Ventures (who run Vimeo) it’s not exactly material for a United Colors of Benetton campaign. So, then, where are the black people in online video?
George Kelly, a journalist for the Contra Costa Times who recently started his own vlog and has been writing about African-American culture online at Negrophile for years, pointed out in a conversation over the phone, “they’re doing the Chicken Noodle Soup!” He also mentioned that included in the sites that the US Military recently decided to ban was portal Black Planet, which boasts over 16 million users, where among other features, users can upload their own videos.
It’s important not to treat African-Americans as a monolithic mass — some even love James Taylor (and I’d be hard pressed to find many white friends who’d say that publicly). As Cecily Walker points out in the comments to Newman’s post, there are even black people outside of the United States — apparently there’s a whole continent that’s practically full of them!
Technology is a mirror, and while there is clearly a digital divide along many lines [PDF], including race, the actual tools are completely neutral, and different people use them differently. There is some danger that those seeking to see only themselves reflected could very well do just that, and people will naturally gather around shared interests and common backgrounds. But as any of the black filmmakers, entrepreneurs, journalists, artists and developers I’ve come to know online might point out, they are certainly there if you care to look.
For instance, if you post a clip on your favorite video service asking “Where Are All the Black People?” I imagine they’ll find you.
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