Us vs Webster & Nem

 

When in search of a word that you do not know the definition of the chances of you opening a dictionary is quite likely. The dictionary in question that you will open will most likely be one of either Webster's Dictionary or some other form of dictionary that was created by an assumed heterosexual cis white male. This has become a norm in our society so much so that we have created the urban dictionary which has allowed definitions of words used primarily by people of color and especially black people. The entire purpose of the Urban Dictionary is to serve in a way in which the "dictionary" can not.  Exploring the purpose of the Urban Dictionary will then allow one to explore the importance of black digital humanities. 

In the article "Making a Case for the Black Digital Humanities", one is introduced to exactly what the black digital Humanities is and its purpose. Black digital Humanities serves as an outlet for content created by black individuals as well as content that centers black individuals. This was created in the absence of Blackness in the space of digital humanities.  The article allows us to understand the ways in which racism has impacted the field of humanities and the necessity of Blackness has inclusion in the digital humanities.

Similarly, the article "Reflections On A Movement #transformDH, Growing Up" allows us to understand the necessity and urgency of a transformation of the Digital Humanities. It reflects on the diversity found within the Digital Humanities and the impact that said diversity can have upon the field and the knowledge of individuals who interact with the digital humanities. 

Webster and nem's definitions of the Black Digital Humanities may not exactly translate to what it actually is. Our class discussion has allowed us the opportunity to interrogate what is the Black Digital Humanities as well as terms that are crucial to the Black Digital Humanities. The following terms that we discussed are black, digital, human, Humanity, Humanities, and black digital humanities.

In our discussion, I defined black as the state of or perception of being black.  I include "the perception of being black" because despite one's ethnicity or one's nationality, the perception of "black", especially in America, defines one as black. Furthermore, I associate digital with social media, the internet, and technology.  It is easy to define "human" as an individual or a Homosapien but it is more interesting to define who is allowed to be human. The title of human has often been stripped from black individuals but nevertheless, we are still human despite this historic injustice. I define humanity as the collective of human beings. Some individuals associate humanity with positive traits such as service or the uplifting of others.  I define humanities as the collective of culture and art within society at any given period in time.  Therefore, the black digital Humanities is the collection of culture and art specific to Black individuals. This can be Blackness outside of the United States on a diasporic level. 

The poem "Lord, why did you make me Black" by RuNett Ebo exemplifies a transformation in how we Define Blackness as opposed to how Blackness is defined for us. This is a great supplemental text for us to conceptualize the purpose of definitions in our everyday life and how they impact not only what we learn but how we navigate the world.