Black Girl Gamers Online Summit
On June 13, 2020, Black Girl Gamers hosted their very first online summit. Hosted on Twitch.tv,the Summit focused on a variety of topics with the underlying focus on how to bring up more people of color into the tech industry particularly the gaming sector. It was a Summit of encouragement for everyone who attended and it inspired me to do more with the platform I have online.
Navigating the Streaming World as a Black Girl Gamer
The audience was treated to a panel of Black women who are all Twitch Partners. StoryModeBae moderated a panel with CupAhNoodle, cuddle_core, and XMiraMira called Navigating the Streaming World as a Black Girl Gamer. The panel started the Summit off with true excellence. XMiraMira spoke on the fact that her “presence is political.” She was speaking about how sometimes people will come into chat while a Black woman is streaming and ask why she’s talking about real world issues such as racism and sexism. But, as XMiraMira stated, she was committed to talking about her presence in the streaming world until it’s not political because it’s important for people to understand that what she experiences is not the same as white males on the platform.
Clip from the Black Girl Gamers Online Summit, XMiraMira speaking on her presence being political
White dudes don’t have to deal with people coming in the chat with racist, sexist statements, arguments on how to best play the game, or comments about how Black women should stop talking about “politics.” Cuddle_Core summarized it best, that there are a lot of people on streaming platforms who only support Black women when they entertain viewers. Many viewers do not want to acknowledge that the person on the screen is a real person with beliefs and views of her own, and so when she brings her reality into the stream, they don’t know what to do. And that’s why it’s so important for Black women especially to build up a community behind them that’ll have their back through it all. Black Girl Gamers is one such community, as is Brown Girl Gamer Code. All of the participants noted that they wouldn’t be where they are without their community behind them, and that’s a beautiful truth. No one can deal with what Black women deal with on streaming sites on their own. That’s why we help support each other and is part of the reason that Black Girl Gamers exists.
A Taster into the World of Voice Acting
The next panel was a peek into what it’s like to be a Black woman in voice acting. Attendees were treated to Cheyenne Ewulu moderating a discussion between Natalia Hinds, Danielle McRae, and Cara Ricketts. All of the women involved have incredible experience in the industry and it was a joy getting to hear more of how they got to where they are today. Most importantly, they shared with attendees that its crucial to continue to practice the skills for what you want to do. Hinds shared that it wasn’t necessary to have formal training, though in some cases it does help, but it is important that you find ways to build up the skills that you want to have. The panelists suggested a range of ways to practice from reading kids story books to test out different characters to singing songs in a characters voice. But above all, when entering auditions, be prepared and be relaxed. Give yourself the chance to express the range of who you are.
Clip from the Black Girl Gamers Online Summit, Panelists speaking on how to prepare for auditions
In Conversation with Angela Roseboro and Shaela Lawson, Riot Games
This one was the panel that I was most excited about, to be honest. Both of Angela Roseboro and Shaela Lawson work for Riot Games as the Chief Diversity Officer and Head of Diversity and Inclusion respectively. My background is in diversity and inclusion in higher education, so I was very interested to see how they had built up careers in this field in the tech and gaming sector. For me, the most impactful thing was when Roseboro said that we have to create context for the next generation. This was especially potent given everything that’s happening in the fight for Black lives across the world. Our job as people with a platform, no matter how big or small, is to create a context where we can thrive in any room. It is especially true for those working directly in diversity and inclusion, Roseboro said that if we are going to be at the table, then we gotta be fully at the table and I felt that.
Clip from the Black Girl Gamers Online Summit, Roseboro speaking to how we have to be intentional with how we use our power
For most of my life, I would get a seat at the table and then be quiet or defer to other voices. I wasn’t using my seat effectively at all, and I had to do a lot of internal work to understand that I had to do more with the power that I did have. It was an affirmation to hear both Lawson and Roseboro remind me to stop thinking that I’m not qualified to speak up. We are in this whether we want to be or not, so why not help build a better context for those who come after us?
Making Your Wave in the Industry
The wrap up to the Summit was led by Jay-Ann Lopez (founder of Black Girl Gamers). She was joined by Andrien Gbinigie and Latoya Peterson to share how each of them worked their way into the industry. Gbiginie said that we have to have a ruthless prioritization in order to get into the rooms that we want to be in.
Clip from the Black Girl Gamers Online Summit, Gbiginie speaking on ruthless prioritization
The process starts with us all finding something that we’re good at and doing it on the internet. For some, that will be making tutorials on how to play games, for others it will be making music, for another person it may be writing, the important thing is to build up a portfolio and grow as a creator in order to show that you’re committed to the work that you are doing. They talked about finding gaps in the market and figuring out how you can fill those gaps. Also, to not be afraid about shooting your shot. Find ways to incorporate the skills that you already have into the industry that you want to be apart of and then start showing people how those skills can benefit their organization.
I cannot thank Black Girl Gamers enough for creating and hosting this online summit. I was encouraged and challenged throughout the entire summit. The selected panelists did an excellent job in speaking their truth while also inspiring all of us to do our part in creating a better context for those who come after us. I’m excited to be a part of building up the foundation so that all of us can grow together. Our work matters and I’m very much looking forward to seeing the ways that all of us can impact the world.
All clips posted with permission from Black Girl Gamers.
