Last week, I packed up my things and headed off to Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most of you are thinking, what is “Netroots Nation” and are assuming it has something to do with hairnets or hairdye, but neither guess is correct.
Last week, I packed up my things and headed off to Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most of you are thinking, what is “Netroots Nation” and are assuming it has something to do with hairnets or hairdye, but neither guess is correct. “Netroots Nation 09” is the fourth annual meeting of the political left’s largest most influential groups of bloggers, writers and web activists. All of the big names were there, from Moveon.org representatives to Actblue, and the political bigwigs made sure to put in an appearance with this group that was so instrumental in Democratic electoral success in 2008. Former president Bill Clinton spoke, as did recent Republican turned Democrat Arlen Spectre and former DNC head Howard Dean. Of course all of that meant little to me at first since I had gone to Netroots Nation with a clear plan and story in mind.
Prior to going to Netroots, I was going to write a column entitled “The Netroots Nation helped elect America’s first Black president, so why is the movement still so white?” Given that we are constantly bombarded with news about the digital divide between Blacks and whites on the Internet, I was positive that the conference would be nothing but a bunch of white liberal bloggers praising an African-American president but completely disconnected from the Blacks who lived in their communities.
Much as a columnist is loathe to admit such things, I was completely wrong about the Netroots Nation. While the conference wasn’t nearly as diverse as the Democratic Party that most of the activists worked for, it wasn’t due to a lack of interest or a tin ear towards the diversity and racial challenges of America. In fact, just about every panel or speaker discussed the importance of involving people of all races in every level of activism. Which is why it was so interesting that there was little or no presence of major African-American web activists at the event. While a smattering of writers might’ve been here or there, major political and social sites like Blackplanet.com, Blackprof.com, Theroot.com, Thegrio.com and even prominent African-American bloggers from the Dailykos.com or HuffingtonPost.com did not have a significant presence at all at the conference. Is the digital divide closing or is something else going on?
______
To read the rest of this article, subscribe to our digital or paper edition. For previous editions, contact us for details.
Copyright 2009 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
About Post Author
