Jamie Broadnax created Black Girl Nerds over 14 years ago.
“I noticed in the geek fandom space that there weren't really a whole lot of women that looked like me that really reflected things that represented women and fandoms that I liked,” Broadnax said.
Today, Black Girl Nerds has grown into a platform connecting fans, creators and communities across fandom.
“It was just like a blog at the time of just my own personal musings of geek culture, and slowly it evolved into this multimedia space that it is now, where we talk about comics, gaming, movies, TV.”
Broadnax is based in Virginia, with contributors across the country. They’ll gather in San Diego for this year's Comic-Con.
“It's just a place for us to kind of network and gather and meet with other folks within the nerd community to just kind of just coalesce and meet and hang out with each other while we're sort of just dealing with all of the craziness of Comic-Con.”
The meetup will feature special guests, comic creators and giveaways. They also travel to different film festivals and related fandom events.
Black Girl Nerds was created to highlight Black women in fandom while welcoming anyone who shares a passion for geek culture.
“It's important for us to always remain inclusive when we're involved in these spaces,” Broadnax said. “So you don't necessarily have to identify as being necessarily a nerd or a Black woman to be a part of this.”
While Broadnax said fandom communities can be supportive, she’s also experienced misogyny, racism and gatekeeping, including fans demeaning Black characters.
“That kind of toxicity is obviously something that we don't tolerate, but we use our platform to call it out,” Broadnax said. “The articles that we write are important to put those pieces out, and our fans amplify that and they call it out as well.”
Making people feel seen remains at the heart of Black Girl Nerds, Broadnax said.
“Someone messaging me the other day saying, ‘Thank you for creating this space. I feel so inspired by the work that you do. Like I want to start creating content because of what you do.’”
Beyond the meetup, Broadnax recommends checking out other Comic-Con events, like the Black Women in Action Filmmaking panel and The Black panel.
The Black Girl Nerds meetup takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. July 23 at the Pool Club at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Find @blackgirlnerds on Instagram to RSVP.
