Having Our Say

Somewhere, Don Imus is in mourning.

MSNBC's and CBS Radio's decision to fire Imus was made after advertisers pulled their sponsorships lest they get caught in the crossfire.  While a broad cross-section of Americans condemned Imus' racist "comedy," the controversy is a reminder that race matters.

Before the I-mess captured the attention of bloggers, the Internet was buzzing with chatter about the racial divide in the blogosphere. Frankly, I was surprised black bloggers cared whether so-called “A-list” bloggers linked to them.

With the exception of the ones I met at the Blogging, Journalism & Credibility Conference sponsored by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, I don’t link to anyone on the A-list. The reason: our communities of readers have different cultural imperatives, interests and priorities.

Sure, incoming links will boost ad revenues. But if I were doing it for the money, I would have stopped blogging 500 posts ago (this is post #556).

Like their counterparts in the mainstream media, A-list bloggers have a vested interest in maintaining white male privilege.

This reality was brought into stark relief when liberal commentator Tom Oliphant pledged "Solidarity Forever" in a phone interview with Imus.  Oliphant went on to say:

[T]hose of us who, through an accident, were scheduled [to appear after the sh stuff hit the fan], who know better, have a moral obligation to stand up and say to you, "Solidarity forever, pal."

Let me be clear: I ain't mad at white male bloggers.  But I neither seek nor need their stamp of approval. The blogosphere is open to anyone who has a story to tell or information to share.

Indeed, that’s one of the findings of the first scholarly research examining black bloggers and the blogosphere (full disclosure: I was interviewed for the study).

Brown University researcher Antoinette Pole found we don’t give a fig about A-list bloggers:

While black bloggers face challenges such as not being linked by more popular bloggers or not receiving as much traffic as other bloggers, they perceive the blogosphere as inclusive.

Findings from this research suggest the blogosphere can be an avenue for greater political participation on the part of blacks and other minorities, given the relatively low threshold to entry and what appear to be low levels of discrimination.

Way back in the day, slaves in Texas didn’t know they had been freed until more than two years after President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

While we celebrate Juneteenth, the principal role of black political bloggers is to ensure that information of importance to our community is distributed without delay.

A copy of Dr. Pole's paper is available here.