Though the term “Blerd” has only popped up in recent times, the Black nerd experience has long reigned through the multifaceted community that is Black culture. From the super urban kids to the ”hood”, to the Jack and Jill upper echelon, you’ll find the cultural phenomenon of Black people being enthralled by anime and nerdom has been a part of our identity as far back as the mediums began. In 2017, Hilton George borrowed the moniker “Blerd” and gave those who identified as it a new place to express their love for their not-so-niche fandom. The new and exciting BlerDCon is one of the few nerd conventions able to flex that FUBU (for us, by us) mindset. It has become a safe space where Black nerds feel included in fandoms that (at times) seem to forget about us. We can shine a light on our existence in a world that shows little representation of us.
BlerDCon 2024 christened year seven of the DMV-based convention and as we milled through the crowds we wondered: “What makes BlerDCon so special?”. To satiate this lingering question, we formulated questions to explore the minds of those who make up this tribe of colorful beings. Our goal was to inquire about their experience of BlerDCon from year one to year seven and to see if this convention was still meeting the standards it had set for itself many years ago. We connected with some exceptional attendees whose various walks of life and experiences within the Blerd space allowed in-depth observation and insight into this year’s BlerDCon. Bringing along our trusty microphone and phones, we met with our six chosen attendees (Vantacreates, Charles McDavid aka TokenTalksCosplay, Amber, Timmy, Chiseled Adonis, and Ked). Below we will recount the words of these selected few as they give their honest opinions on this very special convention that has become dear to many.
Vantacreates during our video interview / photo by OFF BLXXK
How Long Have You Been Attending BlerDCon?
We started by asking how long each individual had been attending BlerdCon. Each answer was diverse from McDavid, “This is my first BlerdCon so far” to VantaCreates’s response, “D**n, that’s a crazy question. I have attended every BlerDCon except 2020 when the world exploded when the fire nation attacked." The other responses varied from two to four years. BlerDCon has solidified itself as a yearly tradition for some of its congoers. With this in mind, it brings the question of why these congoers keep returning.
What’s your favorite part of BlerDCon?
“The camaraderie and just hanging out with people I haven't seen in a while …I think this is probably my 10th con I've went to this year, and seeing us at these cons is, like, hit or miss, but I've been able to see, like, everybody I've met throughout the whole year at this con… that feels really wonderful to be able to catch up with all my people I've met throughout the year and then years past.” McDavid boasts while his sentiments were much the same as Vantacreates who exclaimed “I love the atmosphere, it gives you a sense of like a family reunion.” BlerdCon offers the closeness of interaction amongst its attendees. You can spot your “aunt” or “cousin” in the crowd.
Mother and Son, Amber and Timmy, during our video interview / photo by OFF BLXXK
Mother and son duo, Amber and Timmy, shared an interesting point of view on their accounts of favor. Timmy responded, “I like the originality of it.. everybody can share ideas, and everybody can express themselves.” Mother, Amber chimed in “Yeah, I second the self-expression part of it. I really like that everybody's so creative and seeing all the costumes.” Chiseled Adonis responded with a different opinion compared to our other interviewees highlighting the panels. “Definitely the panel's opportunity to talk to individuals in different parts of industries that can give some insight on how to break in, whether it be voice acting, whether it be getting into animating things of that nature.” We asked a follow-up to his answer, “So, you feel much more connected because it's somebody who’s probably gone through your struggle, and now they're thriving in the industry?” Adonis clarified with agreement, “That's probably been the focal point of why I prefer BlerDCon over others.” He would continue with how his experience differed from BOCs (black-owned conventions) vs. NBOCs (non-black owned conventions). “Well, it's kind of like fubu, so it's like, for us, by us kind of situation,”.
We cascaded through questioning and landed with an idiosyncratic and lively response from interviewee Ked. “The gaming area was really crazy, as it had retro gaming systems, tournaments, and great vibes all around. The parties were free with a pass, there was music literally EVERYWHERE, and there was even an option to watch late-night movies. The late-night panels were also very engaging and entertaining!” Each individual had a distinctive reason they highlighted. It’s great to see that for each attendee, a need was met on how the convention entertained and enticed them.
Chiseled Adonis during our video interview / photo by OFF BLXXK
Has BlerDCon affected you personally? (i.e. have you made relationships friendly or romantic, business ventures, community etc?)
Convention seasons allow the nerd community to attend a multitude of different conventions that vary in location, focus, and demographics. From big conventions like Anime Expo in California to smaller homegrown conventions like NanDesuKan in Denver, conventions give the nerd community the freedom to find more like-minded individuals to connect with. Lately, the number of attendees to nerd conventions is rapidly multiplying yearly. Although you are bound to see familiar faces, vibe out with a crowd, network with industry professionals, or maybe even spot a “10” in the sea of lovely individuals, the fear that the conventions we love are being drowned out by newcomers is very prevalent. This was a sentiment we didn’t see much of with our interviewees at BlerDCon.
Instead, they shared the personal connections that were produced from attending the convention. Adonis emphasized how attending BlerDCon helped him make new business connections. “Definitely business endeavors… Because I'm a YouTuber, I make content creations. So, a lot of different people who happen to be watching my videos or maybe people who're trying to get into YouTube and stuff like that so I’m definitely able to grow business there.” Vantacreates shared this sentiment, “So many people have given me job opportunities, advice, helped me with cosplays, invited me to panels etc. It's such an all-encompassing convention. I've learned so much, and I've really grown as a person. Most people know me for kinks and curls; My panel, and I came up with the panel idea in BlerDCon.”
Outside of the professional atmosphere of interactions BlerDCon brings, the interviewees made more personalized and platonic connections throughout the years. Vantacreates met her boyfriend at BlerdCon. Amber and Tommy mentioned the BlerDCon friendships they’ve made throughout the years. “(Amber) Actually, I've met a lot of long-term friends here, and it's been nice to see people in real life that are usually, like, in an online community or long distance.”
Charles McDavid aka Token Talks Cosplay during our video interview / photo by OFF BLXXK
What does BlerDCon mean to you?
Every event or establishment has specific branding that signifies the message they want the consumer to receive. For BlerDCon as the name implies it’s a place for black nerds to fellowship together. But is that sentiment reaching their attendees? Each of the interviewees agreed that the inclusivity that BlerDCon offered is something that keeps them gravitating back to the convention. “What does it mean to me? It means family. It means inclusivity. It means bringing people together. It means being who you want to be. It's by us, for us. And I truly live by those words. I think that BlerDCon does a really good job of bringing all of us together. And I look forward to it every year… other conventions sometimes don't really hit the same way because there's not so much of us but this convention. I always feel like I'm around family.” a profound excerpt from Vantacreates. McDavid spoke to the inclusivity in cosplay, “It feels good to have a con specifically for us, we go to these other spaces and other cons where we hear the compliments about our cosplays that has an undertone to it … So, to know that these compliments, there's no underlining compliment from people at this con specifically. It feels good.”
Amber spoke on how the convention helped Timmy feel more comfortable as a young nerdy black boy. “Would say safe space. We come from Michigan, and Timmy goes to a PWI elementary school. He and his friends are very much into anime culture and Japanese culture. But he's had some issues with being himself, showing his natural hair… And when he comes here, he's surrounded by people that look like him and talk like him, have his same hair. And I think it helps his creativity flourish. And it's a safe space for him, and it's a safe space for us, and that's what it means for us.” We don't see much inclusivity when it comes to our most vulnerable demographic (children). They deserve to be highlighted and know that they aren't alone in spaces that are relatively niche to their interest. Adonis's answer thoughtfully wrapped up our question. “It’s a unique experience. It's love… just a bunch of grown adults who still carry their childhood with them, and then kids who's thriving and having an opportunity to really understand how important it is to enjoy your time as that child in the moment… it means a lot to me being able to connect with other people who thought the same stuff growing up, watched the same stuff growing up, and then even now, holding on to that piece of childhood far into our advanced age.”
Mother and Son, Amber and Timmy, during our video interview / photo by OFF BLXXK
Do you feel the standard of Blerdness” is being met at BlerDCon?
“I absolutely do. While I do believe communication between future panelists and the relationship between vendors needs improvement, the hard work and dedication to making this a creative and fun space for Black nerds is not lost on me. In fact, I would say they meet the standards quite well.” Interviewee Ked remarked when he received this question. For black nerds, we are not used to being catered to when we attend conventional nerd conventions. So, how does the famed BlerDCon deal with making black nerds feel welcome at its convention? And how well does it stick to its ideals of “celebrating Black nerd culture”?
Vantacreates shared her thoughts “Yeah, I would. I think the standard of blerdness is being met at BlerDCon because blerd now means so many different things. You have black nerds who like comics, anime, music, [and] video games. You have black nerds that are into classical music. You have black nerds that are into horror. You have black nerds that are in the medical field. There's so many different facets of us, and it's all-encompassing. So, I think we are meeting that standard.” Amber and Timmy had conflicting statements on the standards of blerd being met at BlerdCon. Amber simply stated, “It's being exceeded here at BlerdCon, I think.” When the question was directed at Amber’s son, Timmy, his statement veered off differently from our other participants. “I think it was stronger here at first…but this year it's starting to fade away a little bit… It feels like they tried to redo last time, but also a little more sloppily.” With this question and the next Timmy stood out from the interviewee's collective answers.
BlerDCon founder, Hilton George, and Atandwa Kani (Black Panther) during the BlerDCon '24 Opening Ceremony / photo by OFF BLXXK
How would you like to see BlerDCon grow in the future?
To finish off our series of questions, we wanted to know how each interviewee wanted to see BlerDCon grow in the future. Adonis, Vantacreates, and Ked shared the sentiment that they are hoping BlerDCon will move to a bigger venue in the future. “I think if we were to have a situation where it's a bit of an expansion of location, I think. I don't want to say they've ran their course here, but if you [BlerDCon] were to go to a convention center or something of that nature to where it's not as cluttered per se, so I think maybe venue is ultimately what can be expanded.” Vantacreates would echo Adonis’s answer. “We need a bigger convention space, for sure. It's too small, there's too many of us, [and] it's always hot.” However, the end of her answer aligned with McDavid’s feelings toward BlerDCon’s growth. “I want to see more things, more panels, more featured guests. I want Alison Seeley Smith, the voice of storm here.” McDavid spoke enthusiastically about his want for more guests that fit the older crowd demographic. “Maybe expand it out for some other guests. Specifically, Giovanni Samuels… That's my girl, she needs to be here…and more guests that are for, I guess you want to say the 30 and up crowd.” He also definitely wished for the elevators to be more functional next year.
When we got to Timmy his answer spoke to his experience as a child at this convention. “I would say they should probably add more activities to do…More stuff that's focused on kids my age… There's not that much stuff focused on kids.”, Timmy exclaimed. Amber added to his response, “I was very impressed that they had the teen dance and then the kids cosplay dance, but there's a big gap in the age range there. So, the age range was like 13 and he's eleven, so he missed out… and then obviously the party is 18 plus for obvious reasons, and he can't go to that. So, there is kind of an age gap there where there's kids that are his age that are really into anime but can't go to any of the social parts of it. So, I can understand why you [Timmy] think that.”
Extra Questions
Some of those we interviewed had unique experiences that required more tailored questioning. We asked McDavid why he chose BlerDCon as an out-of-towner (he hails from Chicago, Illinois). “I am trying to find my go-to cons as I start slowing down and going to conventions, and I've already had a chance to go to Dreamcon. I've been to a smaller black con in Chicago, where I'm from, and so I needed to come to BlerDCon to see which is going to be, I guess you could say my black con that I’m going to go to consistently.” Ked is a resident within the DMV/Baltimore area. We wanted to explore how locals experience this convention and how it highlights contributions within the local community. “I just recently moved to Baltimore, and I can say without a doubt this was a positive addition to the community. On top of it being a fun and creative space, there was no negativity throughout the con to my knowledge, and everyone seemed courteous and welcoming like the old Black neighborhoods used to be. I usually interact with the community through social media and the three podcasts I am a part of, and the blerds I met in the DMV area are making sure I am acclimating to the area.” The DMV offers a variety of community-based events for their Blerd community and is very inclusive to Blerds looking for like-minded individuals without anxiety-inducing interactions. These tailored questions helped us gain more perspective on why BlerDCon had become a choice for many within the blerd community.
Conclusion
BlerDCon has offered a multitude of experiences, feelings, connections, and insights to both returning attendees and first-timers. The unbiased praises, criticism, and personal highlights have showcased insight into the foundation of this black-owned convention that continues to uplift the black nerd community. The people have spoken. This is a safe space. This is a family. This is a career booster. This is the highlight for the voices that are usually disregarded in the nerd space. For many in the black nerd community, it is reassuring to know that BlerDCon through its seven long years of existence continues to push our voices and experiences to the forefront. Here’s to another seven more years of BlerDCon! Thank you for the time and consideration from the above interviewees who were gracious enough to speak their peace about a space we hope will continue for years to come.
