A Geek of Every Color
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| A Geek of Every Color |
For Black History Month, we look at the inner life of the black geek
There was a time when being a geek -- or a nerd, for that matter -- was just about the worst thing you could be. But with the emergence of a geek culture unashamed to wave its freak flag high, we now find ourselves living in a geek-friendly society. There is no longer shame in being an adult who reads comic books, watches animation, plays video games or enjoys any of the other things that often are attributed to geeks, nerds and other various socially challenged misfits.
Despite an increasingly visible audience that drives much of contemporary pop culture, being a geek or a nerd is still traditionally thought of as a domain exclusive to white people (and select Asian cultures). There is, however, an entire culture of black geeks that has struggled to make itself more visible in the larger world of geekdom. And while the term black geek may conjure up images of Jaleel White as Urkel on "Family Matters" or Alfonso Ribeiro on "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," the contemporary black geek is actually more like rapper Mos Def or actor Donald Glover on "Community."
The 21st-century black geek is an offshoot of the middle-class buppie and the old-school b-boy culture, both of which were immersed in a deep-rooted Afrocentric understanding of the world at large. Black geeks grew up reading books like "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" and listening to Parliament-Funkadelic, while watching reruns of "The Partridge Family" and flipping through the pages of Spider-Man comic books. Black pop culture historians like Fab 5 Freddy, the original host of "Yo! MTV Raps," and writer Nelson George represent this crossroads of diverse cultural experiences that define the black geek.
Though I cannot speak for all black geeks, as one myself, I have lived a life of athletic ineptitude and literary appreciation that has made me seem like an oddball. There seems to be a sad stereotype that says black people must all excel in sports, while never cracking open a book. But I'm here to say that some of us love to read and couldn't make a free throw if our lives depended on it. And with that in mind, here's a glimpse at some of what defines black geekiness, and how we make due in a world that seldom caters to us specifically.
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