Masquerading Blackness Online

In Episode 2, I speak with author and journalist Morgan Jerkins about the construction of Black identity on the internet. Jerkins, whose writing has been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, ELLE, Vogue, and The Atlantic, is fascinated by the many dynamics that shape contemporary identity, including technology. In our conversation, we discuss the ways that various agents use the internet to coopt Blackness for political gain, how it’s becoming harder and harder to verify Black identity online, and the implications for Black people’s experiences, on- and off-line.

Text by Nigel Richard