Jun 2020
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Jun 2020
Jan 2021
MiloNelakho
Jun '20

And that's always the danger, I think. As black creators, there are very specific times when the wider writing community shows out for you, but as soon as the experiences of black creators online aren't centered, the environment becomes just as hostile again. Allies can come and go as they please, we can't exactly get bored of being black and suddenly move through online spaces as if we aren't.

Because of that, I've become wary of setting up shop anywhere where the culture isn't openly moving towards being safer for black creators to exist openly, let alone thrive. Part of that positive cultural shift is creating an environment where black creators can thrive without narrowing their content to what people think we should write. Street Fic is the only genre where having a majority black cast isn't seen as a brave artistic choice or political statement, because everywhere else, representation is seen as deviance rather than diversity.

Then there's the actual labour of moving through artistic spaces where the majority of people aren't aware of what it means to be a black creator on there. From discussions about having to justify black characters, or awareness around problematic representation and the historical weight and weaponising of tropes like the 'Magical Negro' or the 'Noble Savage', to being tagged in threads by non-black creators who want to know if an idea for representation they had is acceptable (it's often laced with trauma and the labour to explain why is almost always met by people ready to belittle or contradict your points despite taking no time to research on the matter).

It's a lot. And frankly the black creators I know in online spaces like this only put up with it because they may want to see a community do better by them, or being openly black is the easiest way to find community with people they won't have to educate to feel comfortable around.

So that would be nice too, creating an environment where BIPOC and QPOC can openly congregate to create community, share ideas, network and provide refuge for each other.But that's forum specific.

On the main site, it's really hard to find works by other black creators. I usually rely on checking the libraries of the black creators I do know and making my way out from there because there's nothing to signal for their content in searches. Even then, many of the great works I do find are abandoned or posted elsewhere where they find traction offsite more easily.

Because the thing is... black stories aren't monolithic, so they absolutely can find an audience anywhere that offers that genre, but they may not be written with that entire genre in mind as a target audience. There's a good thread on twitter explaining how culture and history affects narrative voice in fiction and I'll link it below, and why a work can find an audience on tapas but not necessarily a dedicated, core following, because the people it was made for aren't given a pathway to finding it.

A dedicated highly visible feature list would probably be a start, but that also relies on black readers being shown that this is a space where they can find black voices and stories, and gaining the trust of an entire community like that is a long process. And if the spikes in engagement with the Black Lives Matter movement have shown anything in the past, it's that robust allyship on this scale is very temporary, and black people have learned to only trust the allies who stick around and put in the work after everyone else has literally gotten bored and thinks it's okay to no longer be as vocal.

thread on black vs non-black narrative voice:

https://twitter.com/ElleOnWords/status/126857836414469734512

This also speaks to some of the biases that make it difficult to create content where your readership doesn't have a strong, visible presence.

paintedbynick
Jun '20

Hey everyone! My name is Nic, and I'm a black artist. I make silly webcomics, and hope some of them can make you laugh during this not so great time!

richardsonkamari74
Jun '20

Thank you, it'd be really great for people to read more stories from Black creators like myself. It's really nice to see that we are appreciated by people.

BLM

richardsonkamari74
Jun '20
1

And also, I have five different stories myself that you guys can check out
series thumbnail





TRMcLeod
Jun '20
1

I will admit it's hard to find black stories and POC stories on this site lately. (Not sure if it's because creators are not using hashtags). when I find a story I usually go to their library to see what that author is reading. At my local library and an app they use there is a filter called African American Voices.

Anyways, I have a comic called Crystal Visions. I co-create it with my writer Brianna HS.

demthorshie
Jun '20

This is actually great point and a wonderful suggestion about a filter feature for African American creators/stories. Admittedly, I've been on Tapastic for a number of years and was unsure if it was either really difficult to find POC creators on the platform or if there weren't very many of us to begin with, as I'd only met a handful of other black creators until very recently.

surenlicious
Jun '20
4

Well, since folks have begun to self-promote, hello! I am a Dutch mixed black woman currently writing my first serious novel Jade Kingdoms. :slight_smile: I also make the art for it, hehe.

4

I also have a mini-comic series dedicated to my novel Jade Kingdoms:

2

GGY
Jun '20

Hi there! I've been on here since 2017 :slight_smile: My name is G.G.Y, I'm a black comic creator from Toronto, Canada and I'm the creator of Over 8 Miles!

-G.G.Y

somekindofveggie
Jun '20
2

Thanks for being proactive! I'm a black creator from Los Angeles. The comic I'm currently working on is High School Bites9 I'd love to see a tab on the front-page similar to the LGBT+ collection but maybe with more than just 11 titles featuring work by black creators. Thanks for listening!

-Amauri

QingDom
Jun '20
1

check out my first attempt at writing
Title: Falling Stardust
XASHA who grew up in Lithuania a land where fights for mana veins happened every day, loves having knowledge of everything around him and in this world of magic where nobody knows how it works. He finds himself thirsting for answers to the questions nobody has the answers to. he also wanted to change the political landscape of this world where few have and the rest have to become slaves in order to get a share. Having taught him all they knew, his parents sent him to the White Lotus Academy to further his studies. It's there that he meets the pink-haired Combat Medic Megan and his best friend VERRA. together they set out to change the world as they knew it, will they succeed?

https://tapas.io/episode/17678133

p.s i'm a black creator

CodeMonkeyArts
Jun '20

It was awesome to see the support over on Twitter! I would like to see the same ad on the main of the tapas home page as well :smiley:

megamega
Jun '20

I'm a black writer that's new to Tapas. I was really nervous about publishing this novel because it's dialogue is written in AAVE (African American Vernacular English) and I know many non-black people consider it to be "improper" so I worry it will turn people off from the novel. Most books are written in the typical standard English. But I find it very comfortable and relatable to read. I hope others who are black and speak in AAVE will find it comfortable as well. https://tapas.io/series/High-Tech-Low-Life12

Taneka
Jun '20

I'm Taneka Stotts, a Black & Queer writer who loves telling all sorts of stories. Right now you can catch me telling Casual Hex thanks to the art from my best friends Ria Martinez and Genue Revuelta! We're a diverse team unified by our goal to create stories that don't exist and to keep putting twists on tropes!

https://tapas.io/series/Casual-Hex5

vadoll
Jun '20

Hello! I'm a black writer and artist from New York, and I've been reading comics on Tapas for a few years now.

Like what everyone else is saying, I think a huge step toward inclusivity would be making it easier to locate other black creators. We want to support each other, it's just sometimes hard to find the content unless you already know who and what you're looking for. For the first time since I've signed up for Tapas, I've gotten brave enough to post my own comic!
https://tapas.io/series/Exhale6

Anyway, I'm super excited to see the black creators and love that this forum thread exists! Just found some good stories and can't wait to read all the art!

danitasibert
Jun '20

thank you for pinning this thread, as a black creator it means so much for the support of everyone
for black creators even when we feel invisible.
here are my comics:


TadxSarah
Jun '20
1

I guess i'll post my comics in the official thread for this too XD.
My name is Tad and i'm a black author as well. almost all my comics have a black male protagonist with a diverse cast. My wife Sarah is the artist.