Rise of the Blerds

"It makes sense, [Spider-man is] a poor black
kid in Queens. It just fits" -Donald Glover

For anyone not in the know, or who doesn't watch Scrubs, (read this CNN article... also you need to watch Scrubs) a "blerd" simply means "black-nerd." Some people may question why we need a separate label for a nerd of African American background, or why we need to set February aside as Black History Month. (Are we saying there has been so little people and events in black history that it could only fill a month?) However, I can  understand the need for these things. Let's face it, as a race and as a minority African Americans have been poorly under-represented, or worst yet represented poorly through the lens of white stereotypes, (said the white man on his blog.) So in the same way that February was set asides to honor and allow time for reflection on African American history, the blerd label allows us to recognize that not only do nerds come in all shapes and sizes but also that all black people do not fit neatly into one type or another. Thus, since it is February, let's take some time to reflect on the rise of blerd culture, (as only an awkward white kid can do,) and how us as a wider nerd community need to do more to foster equality in our culture and our media.

 

Let's start by stating the obvious, when you think of nerds you think of white or Asian, and to a lesser extent Indian, (think of the cast of Bing Bang Theory,) but you probably rarely think of black. Welcome to the struggle of the blerd, but why is it like this? it's not like there haven't been famous black nerds.TV has given us many blerds (before we even had the label.) Everyone from Raj in What's Happening to Carlton in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to Steve "I am the king goddamn nerd" Urkel in Family Matters. So why after all these years has the nerd label remained so stereotypically applied to only the white man?

 

The answer is convoluted. I don't want to get into the complexities of black culture or how the media and white culture perceives black culture, (because let's face it, the media is still predominately run by white culture) or how black culture perceives itself through the mirrored lens of the media, or how all these cultures are perceived by some giant bald-headed alien who lives on the moon, (I'm looking at you Uatu.) Mostly, because I don't think I can do the subject justice and because talking about such complexities requires a person who can wield the English language like a scalpel, as opposed to the rather offensive and unfunny machete that tends to be my writing. So if you do want to learn more about such things read this very clinical and dry Wikipedia article. Fo now, let's just say that living up to the media's standards of being black in America means you find yourself stuck along very rigid stereotype lines, and none of the positive stereotypes ever included being nerdy.

When a black character gets portrayed it is often along certain stock-lines such as the sports star or the rapper. Now those are both admirable things to be, but they are not the only things a person can. By portraying African Americans so heavily along those (and other less flattering stereotypes) the media has helped to give a perception to white culture (and to some extent, black culture) that these are really the only acceptable things young African Americans can be. So for years, the idea of the comic book nerd or the science fiction nerd was forgotten. I am not saying that they didn't exist among black people. I am saying that they were not as visible, and when they were, many perceived those characters as acting white. For the most part the "nerd" stereotype was only applied to young black men and women in very specific situations, because smart and uncool were not the standard media prescribed labels for young African Americans. Even when you got the nerd character, he was nothing more than a willful subversion of the stereotype or was treated with rejection by the show's wider community. Remember both Carlton and Urkel started as comparison characters to the show's other "cooler" characters. Science and preppy dressing were considered the realm of the undesirable losers. They were not the characters that you were supposed to want to emulate, (even though by the end they wound up becoming some of the most popular characters.)

Yet, with the rise of the nerd we also get the rise of the blerd. When you really open your eyes up and take notice you see them everywhere, and it is awesome. People like Aisha Tyler, Damon Waynes Jr., Donald Glover and Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, (my personal god,) have come to epitomize what it means to be black and nerdy. Characters such as Turk from Scrubs, Toofer from 30 Rock, Gus from Psych, and Troy from Community, are putting forth new roles for African Americans in the media. Suddenly, it is becoming cool to like comics, be a little weird, and still be black. No longer are these characters the punching bag or the annoying friend. They are funny, smart, and fun to be around. Even better, blerd characters are not just color-blinded models of white nerd characters, but something all to themselves. A blerd is a new archetype that deserves to be recognized and promoted, because let's face it the media does not always give us very positive perceptions of African Americans, especially young males. 

Unfortunately, part of the blame for the lack of African American nerds falls on the nerd community itself. Simply put, we need more positive black characters in our culture, and I'm not just talking about sidekicks either. For too long now, black people have been regulated to the background of our media, (partly because of perceived demographics, and partly because most of the writers have tended to be white males,) but this is something that is changing, (if not slowly.) In doing a search for this article I found that it was harder for me to find positive representations of African Americans in video games than it was for me to find positive women representations. (All I came up with were Call of Duty Soldiers, NFL players, and characters from Grand Theft Auto,) and don't even try to find any original playable female black characters. There have only ever been five in all of video game history, (yes just five.) This needs to change, and not just in video games but everywhere. Another reason why we don't always associate African Americans with nerd culture is because of their lack of prominence in the media we subscribe to. Lando Calrissian aside, who do young black boys and girls look up to in science fiction or fantasy? I mean just look at Game of Thrones. Other than the Hawaiian, Jason Mamoa, (who is an excellent nerd icon in his own right) the cast of the show is whiter than the winter they always claim is coming. heck its whiter than I am (and I'm so white I'm like freaking see-through.) Similarly, the real significance of President Obama's presidency (love him or hate him,) is that African American children can now look up to him and say, "that can be me. I can be President." So the question is, why shouldn't they also be able look up to a superhero, or a starship captain, or a magical warrior, or whatever, and also be able to say, "that can be me."

 

If nerds (and blerds) really want to be a class of people that appeals to everyone we need to start finding a fair balance of positive racial representation. The growing blerd movement is a positive trend that we need to encourage. Personally, I have a great respect and admiration for my black nerd brothers, (I don't mean that in the racial way... I mean it in the... what I'm trying to say is... I... I don't mean bruthers... I'm going to shut-up now...) So let's take this February to reflect not only on the achievements of black history and culture, but on what we can do all year round to build upon those achievements and encourage nerdiness from all people, whether it be blerds or hispanerds or indianerds or anything. Whatever we call ourselves we are the same, we're humans. (Except for you Uatu. I'm watching you.)