At the Intersection of Gaming and #BlackLivesMatter: White Policing of Black Cultural Production in Online Communities

• In Event: Revolutionary Criminology: Shifting Toward a 21st Century Radical Paradigm

Abstract

Because people of color are not recognized as legitimate participants in virtual spaces, disparaging realities exist leading to their exclusion and full participation in the community. No matter the content, the dominant culture of video gaming still gets to decide who is valid and who is not. Using the #Spawn4Good event which called gamers to join in solidarity to reflect and take a stand against the unequal treatment of racial minorities by police, I am able to explicate the hostile reality that Black gamers endure while online. Through ethnographic participation and observation, I explicate the production of knowledge by Black gamers within Twitch.tv, a live streaming video platform rooted in colorblind racism and ideology. Marginalized gamers, for failing to conform to the default White, male norm within the space face resistance while trying to legitimate themselves in the community. I employ Critical Discourse Analysis to examine the #Spawn4Good event that brought awareness to the deaths of unarmed Black men and raise money for Eric Garner. By examining the intersection of gaming and activism, this case study highlights the power that gaming platforms have in aiding in the movement behind #BlackLivesMatter.

Author

• Kishonna Gray, Eastern Kentucky University