Sunday, May 29, 2022
  • Galleries
  • Video
  • Login
creativity collective
Search
search filters
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
  • Creativity
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
    • Press Release Central
    • Style Press
  • Style
    • All
    • Beauty
    • Celebrity Beauty Brands
    • Celebrity Fashion Brands
    • Celebrity Style
    • Fashion
    • Personal Style
    • Style Blogging
    • Style Inspiration
    • Travel-Style

    Thirty, Flirty, and Thrifting

    Model Leslie Sidora

    Michelle Obama – Joe Biden Inauguration Style 2021

    Serena Williams Reminds You: You Are Unstoppable

    How to transform a blank wall into a mural wall without photoshop | Jen Jean-Pierre

    A Study of Harmattan Earth tones and Movement

    Carol’s Daughter Launches A Game Changer: Wash Day Delight A New Water-To-Foam Shampoo With Micellar Technology And Aloe

    adidas x IVY PARK

    adidas And Beyoncé Launch The adidas x IVY PARK Collection

    Serena Williams Debuts First-Ever Jewelry Collection

    Trending Tags

    • culture style
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
  • visit
    • bleative web search
    • web directory
    • video watch
    • web watch
creativity collective
Home Opinion

Blerdcon 2019 – Revenge of the Blerds

Rob LeebyRob Lee
July 21, 2019
in Opinion
1
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Related posts

Ntozake Shange: A Woman’s Geography in Word & Music

November 3, 2018

Why writers love National Library Week

April 9, 2018

My Name is Rob and I’m black.

I’m a nerd.

I’m a blerd.

Now that I’ve declared my tribe let me explain. I’ve always had an interested in pop culture paraphernalia over sports. I’ve been more easily attached to watching cartoons and reading comics over throwing a football or dunking a basketball. And, for the longest time, I’ve been hit with this idea that “black kids don’t do that” – the crux of the Unofficially Black Podcast.

As I’ve gotten older I’ve suppressed my joy in geeky, nerd things to be cool. Being the cool guy mattered more to me that just enjoying what I liked. So those earlier declarations we’re a source of pride or even acknowledgment – it was a thing about me. Not until becoming an adult and recovering from corporate conditioning acting in a persona did I realize that I should just be myself and I’d have deeper, more fulfilling relationships. We all crave acceptance and be a part of something. To find our tribe.

Good Tribes

Tribes are those groups we fit into – groups that accept us as we are. Podcasting is a community, a tribe I want to help enrich and cultivate in Baltimore. Black podcasters to refine that idea. That would be my prime tribe. Nerds – specifically blerds are my second tribe.

During the second weekend this July I attended Blerdcon in Arlington Va. Blerdcon is an annual three-day multi-genre convention held during July in Arlington, Virginia. The conventions name comes from the word “blerds”, a term for black nerds, and was founded by Hilton George. Blerdcon aims to be diverse and inclusive. That last part of the Blerdcon description is always a hassle for me to wrap my head around. Oftentimes, organizations use the concept of inclusivity to fit their idea of it. Inclusivity with parameters. Inclusivity that comes with tiers – i.e. my fandom is better than yours and the like. Not at Blerdcon.

Blerdcon was my best convention experience. Previously I wrote about how great Awesomecon is. That experience was wonderful. Blerdcon is something different and I can put my finger on it. It’s the beautiful black nerds. I felt at home with fellow blerds. Blerdcon was as nerdy and it was black. It is so appealing to me – Hilton, the organizers and the cosplayers made the convention one of a kind.

The run down

Friday Night

On Friday, DeAyres from the Mighty CoPlay Media and I attended on Friday night and Saturday. Usually Saturday is the biggest day for the weekend conventions, so our thinking was to get our passes and do a cursory check but mostly preparing for interviews on Saturday. We saw so many cosplays we’ve seen at Baltimore ComicCon and Awesomecon. The convention really felt like a family reunion. So much that I was offered ‘Elevator Henny’ a convention goer had a bottle of Hennessey that he was sharing with other convention goers. Oh, what a time to be alive.

Friday night we met the incomparable Beau Billingslea from Cowboy Bebop fame.

We attended a Blerdlesque – Blerd Burlesque show. Blerdlesque is a concept where the nerdy or blerd adjacent meets sexy. It was one of the most inclusive parts of the night that I attended. DeAyres ran into his buddies from the DC Anime Club.  Again, it was like running a cousin or an old friend.

Everyone was at this convention – pretty much any swatch from the swath of personas was in attendance at Blerdcon. Also, that cool element was there. The element that I believe for so long wasn’t part of blerd culture but a part of black culture. There was a convergence of the cool, sexy and geeky. I found the lost tribe.

Saturday

Saturday at Blerdcon was bonkers. The plan for Saturday was to get interviews, met up with our back up – my girlfriend, Ku, came down as well as D-MO from CoPlay Media to help DeAyres and I get coverage. In essence, work blended with fun. That’s always the best recipe.

My girlfriend purchased a few comics and was compelled to buy the next two installments of great, Tuskegee Heirs. The creators are great guys and it was special moment for me. I felt like I introduced her to creators of something she likes. Ku really likes the first issue of Tuskegee Heirs. Her quote “I can’t come to a convention like this and not support black artists. It’s irresponsible” resonated with me. It’s so important to support our people.

We took pictures of cosplayers, conversed with convention goers as well as got haircuts. Blerdcon had barbers! That’s one of the blackest things I can think of. The haircuts were dope. Lorenzo, the barber, is a good dude.

Rob & Lorenzo at Blerdcon

After that haircuts, we attended an amazing Q&A with Beau Billingslea. Later, DeAyres and I linked up with our backup and watched the likes of a group Sailor Moon Cosplay, Clovers from Bring it On and the ubiquitous black line dancing. It was great!  Finally, we checked out the Anime Theater – it was great to hang out and watch some new anime – getting away from the mass of people at the convention. Fire Force was dope.

Other highlights for Blerdcon

  1. Food trucks – there were at least 8 food trucks at the convention for the entire weekend. I bought some refreshing snow cones from one of the trucks.
  2. The Absence of the common Nickle & Dime – the convention had free standing arcade games that didn’t require quarters – they were unlocked! Additionally, there were water stations everywhere
  3. Safety – conventions can be dicey and feel unsafe for women and children but there was a since, from my observation, none of that common, vile nonsense was happening. I had the impression of respecting each other and protecting each other was in full effect. This is important
  4. The DJs were top notch – let’s be honest you can’t have a ‘black event’ without great music

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I’ll go again in the future. I want to support Blerdcon in whichever way I can. Whether it’s attended as press, writing a blog or just going with a group of people. It’s crucial to support events that are for us. Blerdcon felt like an HBCU homecoming with nerds. There’s something very special with creative, weird and alternative black get together.

R

Tags: blerdBlerd MagicBlerdConBlerdcon2019
Rob Lee

Rob Lee

Rob Lee is a Baltimore native and creator of Mastermind Team’s Robcast. His interests include weird news, pop culture and entertainment.

Related Posts

Opinion

Ntozake Shange: A Woman’s Geography in Word & Music

November 3, 2018
Opinion

Why writers love National Library Week

April 9, 2018
UNION LEAGUE CLUB - HIDDEN FIGURES
Opinion

How Race, Intent & Other #HiddenFigures Became a Cautionary Tale at Chicago’s Prestigious Union League Club

January 4, 2017
Opinion

Why You Should Not Leave America If Trump-Dog Billionaire Wins the White House

April 3, 2016
Opinion

An Adventure In A Caucus State

February 23, 2016
Opinion

Spring Valley High and the Criminalization of Black Youth

October 30, 2015

Comments 1

  1. Jevon Portee says:
    3 years ago

    Super dope convention with tons of people in the culture. If you are a black nerd it is a must go to.

Recommended

How I Pose in Pics

August 24, 2017

My Bali Swing View

December 10, 2019

Seven Year Itch Inspired

February 17, 2017

How to transform a blank wall into a mural wall without photoshop | Jen Jean-Pierre

April 25, 2020

Michelle Obama – Joe Biden Inauguration Style 2021

January 21, 2021

How To Build A Capsule Wardrobe

July 7, 2016

Latest

Met Gala 2021 Red Carpet Photos

bybleatives
September 15, 2021
0

The theme for Met Gala 2021 was "American Independence"

Read more

Paris Unfiltered: 5 Days in The City of Love

byAshley Elizabeth
July 10, 2021
1

The French capital is one of the most popular cities in Europe

Read more

Thirty, Flirty, and Thrifting

byJoia Monet
July 7, 2021
0

Thrifting has been my favorite way to shop for years now! The

Read more

Trending

Life

Go From Vision Board To Visionary In 3 Easy Steps!

byElle Simone Scott
July 1, 2015
0

  I made my first vision board in 2002. Not only did I not finish but also I wasn’t really...

Being traditional-minded in a hook-up culture

August 16, 2017

Rosewood Season Finale Recap

April 28, 2017

collective tags

Acting African-American african american writers Beauty Beyonce Black Culture Black Panther Movie black women blogging b michael b michael America Creativity culture curly girl Fashion fashion collection France Ivy Park life maxi dress Met Gala movie review natural hair nmaahc Oprah Oprah Winfrey OWN TV Paris Personal Style Photography relationships Rihanna Scandal sci-fi Serena Williams Shonda Rhimes style style inspiration travel travel-style vintage Wakanda watchingoprah web series writing

creativity collective

bleatives creativity collective features creative expressions, inspiration and information by, and of interest to, creatives of color and the world.

Follow Us

Latest

Met Gala 2021 Red Carpet Photos

bybleatives
September 15, 2021
0

The theme for Met Gala 2021 was "American Independence"

Paris Unfiltered: 5 Days in The City of Love

byAshley Elizabeth
July 10, 2021
1

The French capital is one of the most popular cities in Europe and rightfully so. From the baroque, historical monuments...

Trending

Where I was supposed to be: How a cancelled Dubai trip turned into a Grand Canyon road trip

byGina Humber
May 20, 2018
0

Can you believe it?  I was finally was headed to Dubai; I purchased it through a group package from a...

Fashion Icon Files: Sandra Clark from “227”

Fashion Icon Files: Sandra Clark from “227”

byKendro
February 21, 2017
0

Every television show had a breakout star. Sandra Clark from the 1980's television show "227" is one of my personal...

the bleative web

  • bleative web search
  • web directory
  • video watch
  • web watch
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Website Disclaimer

bleatives

Search
search filters
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
  • Creativity
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
    • Press Release Central
    • Style Press
  • Style
  • Reviews
  • Opinion
  • visit
    • bleative web search
    • web directory
    • video watch
    • web watch

bleatives

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In