For those who have been keeping up with the podcast Belonging to Blackness’ recent announcement, the entire team is still on cloud nine celebrating the news of our 2024 Signal Award win for “Curators that Shape Culture” from just a few weeks ago.
To earn a podcast accolade for shaping the culture is not only affirming but a testament to the hard work and commitment it takes to develop and produce quality content that positively amplifies and celebrates Blackness. Using digital spaces such as podcasting to highlight Black voices and tell stories that are salient to global Black communities has been an equally fulfilling experience to me as it has been to write books, conduct social research and teach students about the diversity of Black life for the past twenty-plus years. For me, the omnipresence of podcasts ensures my ability to amplify Blackness for mass audiences in a way that social research and academic scholarship simply cannot do!
Yet venturing into podcasting as a Black woman creator has not been without its challenges. In particular, the assumption that digital platforms serve as an equalizing arena for knowledge exchange, information share and discourse is not accurate. In fact, when it comes to historically marginalized creators, we do not enjoy the same access to media resources and capital to create and maintain our programs nor do we receive the same perception of legitimacy when telling our stories.
For the last six- and one-half years, I have benefited from joining the few Black and Brown podcast mediated spaces that do exist, which intend to counteract the silencing and further marginalization of Black life and storytelling on a global scale.
These spaces focus on community-building for creators and empower its members by:
- promoting various funding opportunities and events for Black and Brown creators and digital media practitioners
- organizing panels and conferences to discuss best-practices in the field
- offering technical training and support
- encouraging networking and collaborations between content creators, and
- mobilizing social justice efforts, political engagement and other activities
Now, more than ever, the timeliness and significance of Black podcasting communities is critical to the sanctity and survival of the voice and perspectives of African descendants in the U.S. (where I am based) and across the globe. By sheer existence, Black podcasts are emblematic of resistance and persistence. Showcasing varied diasporic voices, Black podcasting communities encourage creators to lambaste misogynoir, white, patriarchal, homophobic/transphobic, sexist, and xenophobic systems of oppression and explore strategies that challenge AND overcome them.
In the current social, economic and political landscape in which we are living, complete reliance on anti-Black systems that often devalue, neglect and ignore Black and Brown voices is not tenable to our ability to thrive—not only as individuals but as a collective. Yet, this fact is nothing new. In this moment, it is paramount to participate in activities that uplift and support our future legacies. And, I believe, edifying Black podcasting communities—digital media spaces and platforms—is one of the many activities we can stay engaged in building beautiful futures, regardless of what the next four years has in store for us. Indeed, the fight continues.
One such community I highlight in a forthcoming podcast episode features guest Talib Jasir, the founder of the Afro & Audio Podcast Festival for Black indie podcast creatives and audio professionals and Vanguard Podcast Network, a podcast production company, producing original independent stories and social impact nonprofit podcasts (see Episode 51 available on all platforms Tuesday November 12, 2024).
At the crux of our conversation, Talib and I explore the significance of Black and Brown podcasting communities as positively reinforcing “Blackness” by producing specific, targeted content that centers the diverse experiences, perceptions, and worldviews of African descended people globally while stressing the importance of having F.U.B.U. (for us by us) support systems to do so.
Looking forward to you joining the conversation and staying engaged with us.
Peace and blessings,
Dr. Yndia & the Belonging to Blackness, LLC team
