Afrofuturism as a Blerd Identity Formation Tool, Part 2: Assembling the Pieces

Connecting Theme(s): #loneliness #afrofuturism #mentalhealth #identity #politics #art

Blerds will save us! Some may see it as impossible. But no…it’s necessary. If you don’t get the reference, stop reading and educate yourself. 

This will be a quick post. We’re gonna answer some questions that are floating around, clearly identify the pieces for what will become our model for Blerd identity formation, and move onto actually putting it altogether next week.  Let’s get started with the purpose of this exercise (for lack of a better word). It’s two-fold. Firstly, to create a roadmap to assist Blerds (and eventually others) with mindfully shaping ourselves in a world that can be chaotic and destructive. Secondly, to activate the political power in Blerds (again, eventually with others).

Smooth. Now, we’ll define some key terms: 

1. Blerds are Black nerds, characterized by existing in a social limbo space and utilizing the skill of navigating the intersection of Blackness and nerd culture.

2. Afrofuturism is “an exploration of the African Diasporic experience via the interactions of science, technology, the arts, and race. Both a cultural expression and a method of critique, AFF is an instrument for the reclamation of the past with the purpose of imagining potential futures.” It’s best to understand it as an analytical technique using race, technology, science, and the arts to create potential futures. 

3. For psychology, we’re using three concepts: 

   • Pro-sociality is mutual beneficence; I believe it to be a hallmark of intelligence - a Blerd trait. This makes it a personality trait that can be developed, hence why it falls under psychology.  

   • Connectedness is understood as having healthy mirrors, as described in my TEDx Talk.

   • Cultural/racial identity will be defined in accordance to a principle driving *William Cross’ Black Racial Identity Model; “Identity must be complemented by material change or else one is forced to fall back on a survival mode” (Cross 36). 

Now that we’ve got our key terms, let’s answer some floating questions. If there are some you think I’ve missed, let me know in the comments!

1. What’s the relationship between self and time, and how can it help with creating this tool? 

   • According to narrative psychology and a tenet of identity formation, our self-concepts are comprised of the stories we tell ourselves over time. A “weak” sense of self is indicative of scattered storytelling; a “strong” sense of self is linked to consistent storytelling. Stories (good ones, at least) aren’t completely temporally linear. We often pull from our pasts to explain present intrapersonal dealings. We project our hopes or dreads into the future, either damning or elevating our futures based on our past and current stories. Unconsciously, we use time to shape our sense of self. Taking this understanding, the Blerd identity formation model will look at time in a nonlinear fashion. That frees us from the discreet stages of other identity formation models, and instead makes it clear that the process is indeed ever-flowing. Self precedes perceptions of time; taking ourselves back into this mode will help us more freely define Blerd identity within and outside of time. 

2. Why use Afrofuturism as a tool to deconstruct Blerds? 

   • Blerds are **technologically inclined. Blerds sit in a unique space socially due to their intersectionality. Blerds contribute to areas of science and the arts. Need I go any further?  

3. Why use those three psychological concepts to deconstruct Blerds? 

   • Pro-sociality is a hallmark of intelligence, which differentiates Blerds from others. Intelligence and communication go hand-in-hand. A disparity in technical knowledge and social knowledge creates barriers to interpersonal relationships. Being a Black nerd also does that. So, in order for Blerds to form healthy identities, emphasizing connectedness (in-person and online) is significant for the sake of morality. Despite any issues with connectedness, Blerds (like everyone else) develop identities within a cultural context. Cultural identity must be an informing piece for identity formation; using Cross’ principle (see above) also drives the connectedness piece.  

Alright then! Looks like we’ve answered the floating questions. It’s time to move onto organizing the pieces. That’s a next week junt. Talk to you then!

*William Cross also notes he considers his model to be racial and cultural. 

**Contemporary technological inclinations go beyond hard technological skills such as coding or software engineering. Mark Derry’s 1993 “Black to the Future” essay defines Afrofuturism through Black speculative fiction’s appropriation of “images of technology and prosthetically enhanced future[s]” (Derry 180). The advent of social media presents itself as an arena for technological innovation. Examples include Meg Thee Stallion, RDC World 1, FD Signifier, and many more. 

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H1s9gj5DA (Interstellar scene for you); https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIGMYEL2E2Y&t=316s (The Networked Black Consciousness chapter in the video)