This panel brings together Black feminist scholars, writers, and public intellectuals to examine how and why debates about gender, sexuality, and nationality consistently emerge as top topics on social media platforms within Black discursive communities. How do algorithms and influencer culture contribute to sowing discontent and misinformation among Black social media users? We consider the social and political implications, who ultimately benefits from these conversations, and how we can make different choices around our own engagement and participation.

All are welcome and we strongly encourage undergraduate and graduate students to attend. Coffee, tea, and desserts from Blue Nile Ethiopian Restaurant will be provided to all attendees.

Advance registration is recommended:

Register to attend in person: https://myumi.ch/mRXXg
Register to attend on Zoom: https://myumi.ch/jJrrz

Meet the Panelists

Brooklyne Gipson (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University - New Brunswick. Gipson is an interdisciplinary scholar whose areas of research include digital and social media environments, Black feminist digital/technology studies, and the intersection of race, gender, social media, and power. Her current research takes an intersectional approach to analyzing how anti-Black discourses manifest themselves in everyday discursive exchanges within Black social media spaces

Jamilah Lemieux is a leading millennial feminist thinker, social influencer, and game-changing media maverick. A renowned cultural critic and writer with a focus on issues of race, gender, and sexuality, Lemieux’s written work has been featured via a host of print and digital platforms, including the LA Times, the Nation, Essence, Playboy, the Cut, the Guardian, Colorlines, the Washington Post, Wired, Self, Inverse, Refinery 29, the Columbia Journalism Review, the Nation and the New York Times. She penned the foreword for the 2015 anniversary of Michele Wallace's Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman and the 2017 re-release of Ann Petry’s Miss Muriel and Other Stories.

AE Stevenson is Assistant Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Chicago. She is currently working on her book manuscript where, through an analysis of Vine, TikTok, Instagram's The Shade Room, and "blackfishing," she argues that Black women and girls have fundamentally changed the visual language of the Internet. She has published in Feminist Media Histories and Catalyst.

Meet the Moderator

Catherine Knight Steele is an Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Maryland - College Park and was the Founding Director of the Andrew W. Mellon funded African American Digital Humanities Initiative (AADHum). Her research focuses on race, gender, and media, with a specific emphasis on African American culture and discourse in traditional and new media. She examines representations of marginalized communities in the media and how groups resist oppression and utilize online technology to create spaces of community.

We want to make our events accessible to all participants. CART services will be provided. If you anticipate needing additional accommodations to participate, please email Cherice Chan at chericec@umich.edu.