Hat Tip and Shout Out to Talia Whyte, at my hometown black newspaper The Bay State Banner regarding the article on: Black bloggers make an impact in Hub, online
As more and more people head online to read commentary on the news of the day, black bloggers are riding the wave and making their voices heard. Some, like Wain Bennett, the Philadelphia attorney behind Field Negro (above), have been the subject of multiple news features. Here in Boston, South End writer Steve “Dart” Adams makes noise on his site, Poisonous Paragraphs. (Images courtesy of
http://poisonousparagraphs.blogspot.com; http://field-negro.blogspot.com)
Today, through the use of the Internet and new media tools like blogs, YouTube and Twitter, everyone can make their voices heard. An increasing share of the African American community is taking the opportunity to do just that, including a number based here in Boston.
Many are choosing to use blogs as a medium for mobilizing around political and social justice issues. According to a 2007 study conducted by Brown University researcher Antoinette Pole, 85 percent of blacks use their blogs to engage in political advocacy and to raise money for charitable causes.
Though there has as yet been no scholarly follow-up to measure the effect of Barack Obama’s landmark presidential campaign on the black blogosphere, the explosion of online conversations about race in America and in American politics suggests that the percentage may have significantly increased.
The presidential campaign also helped some black bloggers become “cyber-celebrities.” Bloggers like Wain Bennett, the Philadelphia attorney behind Field Negro, Gina McCauley of the feminist site What About Our Daughters and Harvard graduate Baratunde Thurston, one of the founders of Jack & Jill Politics, have been featured in print and on air to offer their perspectives on the news of the day.
Recent political controversies in Boston have also been bantered about in the black blogosphere. On his popular blog African American Political Pundit, Roxbury native L.N. Rock covered closely — and sometimes harshly — the ongoing legal and financial woes of embattled former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson and City Councilor Chuck Turner. More HERE
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