The Power of the Black webseries

“The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl”, created by Issa Rae, is part of Pharrell’s i am Other channel on Youtube. Watch the latest episode HERE.

In between drooling over all the Comic Con tweets across my feed this weekend, I also had webseries on the brain. Two shows in particular caught my attention once again. I’ve even written about them before – “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” and “The Couple”. Do I watch them because I’m Black? Maybe. More likely, it’s because for the first time, I’m watching dynamic characters in interesting predicaments that just happen to look like me. I’ve heard time and time again that the people making the most money from Youtube aren’t old white guys sitting in executive offices, but young people of color with a handy DSLR and something to say. They speak to a hungry diverse audience that is often ignored by mainstream media. If you can provide quality content on a consistent basis for these folks, they will come and probably bring a few friends. Both “ABG” and “The Couple” have gained a following of hundreds through Youtube and their success is worth taking note.

“Black Folk Don’t” Season 2 Premieres June 26th

It started with a suggestion from internship supervisor last summer. I’d been musing about a creating a webseries based on tracking down the origins of my family’s food traditions. I was pointed in the direction of a new project called “Black Folk Don’t”. The premiere episode was called “Black Folk Don’t Tip”. From the title alone, I was hooked.