Society and Today's Black Girl Nerd

Society puts women in a box. Society puts black women in an even smaller box. With that said, black girl nerds are in some kind of weird triangular thing off to the side by themselves. We do not fit into the way society sees us and to an extent, that bothers me. I cannot tell you how many times I have gone to a predominately black area and feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. Or if I'm hanging out with a group of black people I've just met, they often comment how I speak "white". This is something I could never understand. We dress weird, we talk "white", we wear glasses, we like Dr. Who but will still watch Basketball Wives and keep up in both conversations. It's a spotty world we live in.

In recent years, I've noticed that there has been a huge surge in black girl nerds. Now, this is a movement I support wholeheartedly. As a female that works in a prominently male workforce, it has often saddened me to see very few women at conferences or holding a position of power. There are even fewer black women in attendance and I am often easily spotted and remembered because of the lack of diversity floating around. My work life aside, even when I go home to North Carolina, spotting one of "our kind" is few and far in between. Dating within our race? Pulling teeth. Trying to get your family to just grasp that you don't want to go to an HBCU cause you just KNOW you won't fit in and you'll get dirty looks? An everyday occurrence. Having people look at you funny because you can keep up in a technical conversation? All the time. However, the other week at work I had an epiphany. I saw a black girl nerd. She was just like me. We didn't even speak but just looking at each other said so much. Yes, I know this sounds like a romance novel but I became seriously giddy.

I would LOVE to organize some sort of "conference", ok not a conference but at least some nice kind of get together, for like minds to meet, eat, drink, and be merry. And nerdy. In the spirit of nerd fellowship. Seriously. If you all are interested in trying to have some sort of get together, please let me know! I'll do all that I can to organize something cost effective and fun for us to do!