By Monique
Are you in New York City this weekend? Are you a blerd or or POC nerd? Do you just like nerdy stuff in general? Then you might want to check out Blerd City Con, happening this weekend in Brooklyn, NY.
Blerd City Con is “a celebration of the Black community and the glorious nerdiness held within.” Here’s what the press release has to say:
“Featuring art, science, film, literature, and technology, BLERD CITY is an innovative and unique event like no other. Our family-friendly conference features an incredibly tightly knit, warm, and accepting atmosphere. If you want to know what’s going on in New York’s incredible, diverse, and unique Black nerd culture, BLERD CITY is where you want to be.
…BLERD CITY is a conference dedicated to showcasing the multi-dimensional complexity of black nerdiness through all spectrums of creativity, invention, and innovation. We’re going to have panels, workshops, film screenings, Afrofuturism, special guests, presentations, and so much more. Visit our marketplace for gaming and comic books and take your kids to our all ages science and technology exploration center — where they can be inspired like never before.”
“I want the audience to experience Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy by the talents of leading writers as well as filmmakers, coders and creators of the African Diaspora who are serving the community of Black and Nerdy,” said Clairesa Clay, founder of Blerd City Con.
This year, Blerd City Con includes appearances from some of the most notable people in the blerd and tech communities, such as:
- Clayton Banks, is the Co-Founder and CEO Of Silicon Harlem, established and produces the only comprehensive technology conference in Harlem, the Silicon Harlem tech conference.
- Keith Perrin, CEO and General Manager of FUBU Radio, is a founding member of the worldwide brand Fubu The Collection, who oversees the administrative and business functions of the radio station.
- Andrea Hairston, science fiction and fantasy playwright and novelist. She is the winner of the Carl Brandon Parallax Award for her first novel and short-listed for the Philip K. Dick Award and the James Tiptree, Jr. Award.
- Sheree Renée Thomas, award-winning fiction writer, editor, and poet, and author of Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora and Dark Matter: Reading the Bones.
- Tim Fielder, graphic artist, cartoonist, and animator, best known for Afrofuturism: The Next Generation.
- Warrington Hudlin, veteran producer of film, television, and online media
- Regine Sawyer, owner and writer at Locket Down Production a press comic book company. Also the founder of the Women in Comics Collective International.
Along with these featured guests, the convention will also include panels and workshops like these:
- New Avengers: Voice of a New Media
- Wakanda & the Wealth of the African Diaspora
- Betting Big! Tech and Business
- Women in Comics
- Black Males in Mainstream Media: Politics, Protest, and Sexual Misconduct
- Dysfunctional Disorders of Social Media Mayhem
- Code, Write, & Sip
- Son of Mogh: A lecture
- ZOMBIE DOOMSDAY: A fictional reading
- World of Martial Arts: Does it work in Brooklyn?
- It’s a Kpop World Sing-a-Long
- Afrofuturistic Playwrights
Blerd City Con will take place at the historic St. Francis College 180 Remsen Street Brooklyn, New York July 14 and 15. You don’t want to miss this one-of-a-kind event and experience. Tickets are available now via EVENTBRITE. You can also visit Blerd City Con’s website to learn more.
Julian 