It’s been a while, but I’m making up for lost time with a couple of posts per week. You can look forward to me talking about plenty in the pop culture world, as well as some topics close to my heart. But for now, let’s talk about Blerds.

For those not in the know, a blerd, is a black nerd. Simple enough, right? Wrong.

Being black is always in question in these United States. Couple that with nerd culture and we, black folks, are viewed as weirdos that reject our identity and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Black people have had to create identities and find our place in a country that has barely recognized us in the past fifty years. As a writer and burgeoning filmmaker, it is my goal to transform the view of black people from “the diversity hire” to a multifaceted prism of heroism, villainy, humanism and ethereal beings.

I recently started research on a series that would address the plight of black nerds in 2019. As it stands, there are a few subjects, but not many who want to participate. I find myself questioning our existence once again in nerd culture. I am annoyingly baffled at the lack of enthusiasm, but I will change minds.

Black people have garnered a reputation, at least in the south, of being “too cool,” so much so, that any semblance of things uncool peaking out are reminiscent of Steve Urkel of Family Matters (who shed his own persona for that of Stefan Urquelle) or Troy Barnes from Community. No one wants to emulate these people outside of parodic behavior. So what is the cause then? Why the hidden identity?

I am reminded of my time at Albany State University, an HBCU in Albany, Georgia. The anime film Naruto Shippuden the Movie: Blood Prison, had just been released in the U. S. and the anime club on campus was organizing a viewing party. There weren’t any participants, so the respective members went their separate ways for the night. Later that evening, I overheard my roommate watching the movie from his room. I asked him why he didn’t join the viewing party, and he replied that he was too cool for that. There’s that phrase again.

The next day, I overheard several conversations about the movie from people who never speak or participate in nerd culture on campus. When I approached them, they all but shunned me away from them. Could have been me? Was my approach encroaching on their identity? Why did these people hide their nerdy interests? What is the purpose in doing so? I wondered for a time, but I couldn’t feed into that kind of logic. I didn’t understand it, and so I moved on.

Delving into these thoughts from my past has led me to create a series of posts and videos that will feature black nerds and how they handle life in 2019. Nerd subculture and Black nerd culture has shed a light on what it means to be black, what it means to be a nerd, and what it means to be a black nerd in America.

This study will be done in two parts. I will first acclimate myself to black identity politics. I want to know what the worlds intellectual community has to say on this matter. After that, I will look at black nerds through interviews, videos and social media on how they deal with societal pressures on either sides of their identity.

Blerds have to fight nerd culture and racial politics. Frankly, I’m tired of fighting. We shouldn’t have to defend liking The Lord of The Rings, anime and K-Pop to other black people who think we reject our heritage and white nerds who think we haven’t suffered like they have–which is wrong on so many levels (Trust me, I will get to that post in the coming weeks).

I believe their is room for all people to express all sides of themselves without judgment. But how do we get there?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts as I dive into this series. Leave your thoughts in the comments below or hit me on Twitter @Cupidsheart99.