Black Girls Create started as Black Girls Nerd Out in 2015, a nerdy blog and an excuse for cousins Robyn and Bayana to hang out together. Later that year, we launched the #WizardTeam podcast in order to talk about Harry Potter and, again, provide an excuse to hang out together.

Since then, BGC has grown in so many ways. We changed our name to better reflect our personal goals, expanded our content to both highlight creators and continue to engage in fandom critically, traveled to cons across (and outside of) the country, developed and hosted programming for Black nerds and creators, and expanded our team to include content creators who were as excited about our vision as we were. In the past seven years we have seen many of our ideas come to fruition, and have been offered many dope opportunities that we couldn’t have imagined.

But—like with everyone—the last couple of years have taken a toll. The pandemic, anti-Black racism, the general collapse of our world, all of it has been difficult to deal with without the work and effort it takes to sustain and grow a business, even one that centers around the things we love. From the beginning, Black Girls Create has been a side gig, a fact that we’ve wanted to change but requires a lot of work to achieve.

In the last six months, we have been reevaluating the time, effort, and passion we have to create, both within this space and outside of it. Black Girls Create is something we love and we don’t want burnout to burn this organization we’ve put so much of our hearts into. After talking to each other and checking in with ourselves about our priorities and capacity, we came to the conclusion that now is a good time to RECREATE, both internally and externally as an organization.

With that being said, please allow us to (re)introduce you to…

Black Nerds Create is a collective that provides content through a lens of critical and creative fandom, in order to advocate for and contribute to meaningful representation in media for Black folks specifically, and systemically marginalized people in general. 

The BNC Collective develops content for Black Nerds Create while pursuing our own nerdy and creative projects. We’re excited to bring these projects to you, our lovely community! While a lot of the content and day-to-day engagement you’ll see from us won’t necessarily be that far off from the BGC of before, Black Nerds Create is a space that reflects who we have become and who we want to reach. We still exist on the bridge between fandom and creation, we will always go up for Black creators, and we still believe in the power and importance of fan creation. We are just narrowing our focus to prioritize the content creation we’re most passionate about. This means:

• You’ll still get bookish content from reading marvel Porshèa with The Plot Thickens
• Our previous Patreon limited podcasts will be made public, starting with BNC Presents: Tolkien Black Girls on June 30 and releasing weekly in anticipation of the Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power show
• Y’all know we can’t leave the TARBIS with Ncuti Gatwa as the 14th Doctor! We’re also working expanding this content to encompass all things Blackness in Space (you may have noticed our #TARBISTalks: The Man Who Fell To Earth Spaces conversations in partnership with Showtime!)
• Juneteenth and Kuumba Kickback will not happen this year. We’ve really enjoyed creating space to highlight creators of color and hope to still do so in the future!
• And more!

We hope you continue with us on this journey through fandom and creation! If you peep the vision and want to show your support:

• Become a BNC Baddie! Join our Patreon at whatever tier suits you—inspired by our friends at Hashtag Ruthless we’re opening up perks so you’ll get bonus content, monthly livestreams, and more regardless of the level you’re able to pledge.
• Throw It In The Bag! If you’re more interested in giving a one-off contribution, you can do so at PayPal or Cashapp. 
• Follow Us! We’re on Twitter @blknerdscreate and Instagram @blacknerdscreate.
• Get your dose of Monthly Magic! Subscribe to our newsletter for updates and nerdy links once a month.

Thanks so much for sticking with us these past seven years. We can’t wait to keep championing representation in media for Black and otherwise marginalized folks!

-Bayana and Robyn

Psst…

Magical stories remain near and dear to our hearts far beyond boy wizards and British magical schools. Watch this space come Fall 2022 when some familiar hosts embark on a new magical adventure…