Race and New Media Conference

On Saturday May 3rd, 2008 the first annual Race and New Media conference was held at the CUNY campus of New York City College of Technology. As I sat in the conference, after purchasing my super cool “Race and New Media” tee-shirt, I slowly began to feel awestruck and mesmerized by the effect the conference held over its audience. It gave a chance for many to express their opinions and beliefs regarding race and new media, and answered many baffling questions that have currently been on many people’s minds.

Omar Wasow kicked off his keynote speech and did an amazing job of captivating the audience’s attention with a hint of laughter. Omar Wasow, is the co-founder and ongoing strategic advisor to BlackPlanet.com and an on-air technology analyst. Under Omar’s leadership BlackPlanet.com became the leading site for African Americans, reaching over three million people a month. Omar also works to demystify technology issues through regular TV and radio segments on NBC's Today Show and public radio's Tavis Smiley Show. In 2003, a K-8 charter school that Omar helped found opened in Brooklyn. The main question surrounding Omar Wasow’s speech was: What is the struggle for African Americans today? He linked this question to the concept of the digital divide, asking what exactly is the digital divide in this day and age. He went on to claim that this digital divide is disguised as the “literary divide,” which has affected all colors of skin. According to Omar, without advanced writing and analytical skills, people of color will continue to be incapable of understanding and participating in the new media that is vastly taking over the world. The proposal of creating and supporting charter schools is a great idea because it gives individual attention and care to their students, helping establish a better education, meanwhile breaking the barrier technical illiterates. This may be an attempt to solving the problem of the struggle for African Americans.

After Omar’s keynote speech, there was a mini-concert performed by 2Divine—a teenage Church band. They sang and dance raising the energy of room with their beats. They then discussed how their views on the worlds and society influenced their music. Together, they are a positive inspiration for teenagers today.

The last panel, “Constructions of Obama,” included speakers—Joel Rainey from Harvard, Wellesley College Professor Diana Williams, Peter Rosenblum, an expert in politics and human rights, Ebone Bishop from Fordham Law School, Mark Chackerian an MIT alum and digital analyst, and finally Baratunde Thurston of Jack and Jill Politics. The panel held a discussion mainly about the racism formed against African Americans. There were a series of questions about the Obama and Hillary campaign and went as far as to bicker about whether Obama becoming president will caused an assassination. They mentioned about the popularity of Obama growing among the younger generation and his fame online. They compared the influence Obama has with new media with Hillary’s concluding that Hillary needs a bit more improvement.

Overall, the conference was quite a success. I am positive that many left gaining a few knowledgeable things or even a newer light on certain issues.