The web as a megaphone
Each year, the Dynastie Gala recognizes the contribution of black personalities from various backgrounds. The five finalists competing in the category Engaged Web Personality of the Year are speaking online to promote their ideas. We talk to those who express themselves loud and clear on our screens.
Raising your voice on social media
“I have nothing to gain”, underlines Jessica Prudencio with a laugh, referring to her positions. Initially, the content creator wanted to share her experience. “I spoke naturally, with my personal experiences, through existing as a fat black woman.” It was thanks to social networks that she was able to create this space to express herself.
By building her platform, she realizes the importance of such a project: to make those who are too often absent from the dominant discourse be heard. “The experiences and voices of people who are marginalized deserve to be heard,” she says. And it's not just about struggles, it's about everything that makes her who she is. Fashion, food, beauty — Jessica reveals her captivating and colorful universe on Instagram. She also co-hosts a podcast, Where We At, dedicated to Indigenous, Black, and People of Color (BIPOC). She does not hesitate to speak out on social issues, such as fatphobia and racism, on all her platforms. On the web, subscribers regularly take the opportunity to communicate directly with Jessica, which she deplores. However, they have all the tools at their disposal to educate themselves.
“There is a lot of intellectual laziness with social networks,” she believes. “I am not here to do the work for them,” says the woman who does not hesitate not to respond to inquisitive requests.
“My background is very white,” she says of her clients, subscribers and collaborators. “It warms my heart to have the recognition of the black community,” adds the young woman. “We are constantly “invisible,” she says about the place of BIPOC people in the media landscape. Nobody wants to hear us speak, nobody wants to see us.” The trend is slowly turning around, but the game is far from over. “Things are going to change the day we actually get to speak,” she said. When we have our platforms, our media, and when we can say what we want without being afraid of reprisals.”
Marcus Troy also makes a living from his passions. An entrepreneur, he owns a creative agency and wears many hats. His experience also leads him to be critical of the industry in which he works. “People who don't look like us tell us what's cool about our culture and ideas, and tell us what we should see or feel. More diverse opinions and voices should be heard, especially from Black people, as they are the most influential group of people in the world, he believes. You just don't get the same respect.”
His business does not depend on social networks, but the web remains a tool that allows him to share the projects he is working on and the things that are important to him.
“If there's one thing the oppressors didn't take into account, it's the Internet,” he said. The Internet has shown a lot of things, it has given people the opportunity to express themselves.” Marcus believes that the web also offers an opportunity to demand accountability, to hold institutions and businesses accountable for their actions.
Although it is primarily a creative tool for him, entrepreneurs do not hold back from speaking out when they feel the need to. “When something happens, I speak out on the topics that are important to me and my community. I try to be present with my voice.”
Meet the community
Comedian Renzel Dashington was in the second performance of 10 of his first one man show when the pandemic abruptly forced him to pause his shows. In reaction to the lockdown, he made the first live video on social networks last March.
A year later, there are more than a hundred live episodes, each lasting one hour, and accumulating thousands of viewings. While his goal is primarily to entertain, Renzel sparks a lot of discussion among his audience members. “I'm talking to a room full of black people who want to hear the things we're all talking about,” he says. Her type of humor lends itself well to social commentary. “We're going to laugh a lot at things that aren't important, because being Black is that too.
We will also talk about serious matters and topics that concern us, that have an impact on our lives.” He is alone in front of the camera, and the free style of live videos allows him to train his acting muscle. “Humor has the function of making people laugh, yes, but what has the most effect is when the comedian gives you a chance to discover something you already know in a different light,” believes the artist.
In his videos, the comments section comes alive from start to finish, with people participating enormously. “I'm happy to be the lubricant, the facilitator of the conversations we wanted to have,” says the actor. He compares himself to a neighbor who simply wants to be around his family and break the isolation of community members. The comedian's online presence has earned him recognition on the cultural landscape, especially by his peers. Despite this, he does not believe that his future is in the traditional media, in part because his words do not appeal to their audience.
“They're going to hear me say things they don't want to hear. Listeners told me that I was not helping the anti-racist cause,” he lamented, referring to a column on 98.5 FM. “I don't think they would hire me. If it were possible, they would have already done it.” He prefers to remain free, and above all, to be where his audience is.
Reaching out through the web
Petrona Joseph attracts confidence: when you hear her story, you immediately want to tell her ours. “I am a blogger and a mental health advocate,” she said on the phone. “Did I intend to become one? No! ” she exclaims with a laugh. The linguist by training decided to return to her first love — writing — by changing careers after achieving success in business development for luxury brands. “I was not accepted in the business world,” she said, speaking about her experience as a black woman.
Recently, a depression forced her to slow down her activities. She decided to speak out about the disease on her platform. “I've talked a lot about my fight this year,” she says. And I believe that this is my life goal,” she adds about this new turning point. Petrona's story resonated enormously with the public. Several of her subscribers recognized themselves in her. Thus, the influencer was able to create relationships and reach many women. Communicating with them regularly, she supports them in their journey.
“Mental health is stigmatized in black communities,” she believes. Petrona is currently finishing a book on the subject, based on questions sent to her. She is now regularly invited to share her experience everywhere, on the web, but also on radio and television. The author is no stranger to television sets, as she already hosted the local fashion segment on Breakfast Television.
Although the web has shaped her career, she still believes that she could have carved out a place for herself to tell her story in traditional media. It was first by giving advice that Thierry Lindor started speaking out on social networks.
“I've always been an entrepreneur, but I actually have a big mouth,” exclaims the committed citizen, who is also a UN delegate. His interventions mainly concern real estate and entrepreneurship, his fields of expertise. He also regularly appears on television as a specialist in these fields, a privilege he attributes to being a man and to colorism. “Around 2018, I started to understand the power of social networks,” he says. He then shared his TV appearances on the web and saw that a dialogue was being created in the community.
“Very quickly, I understood that I had to migrate from a platform that was offered to me sporadically to another that I could create,” he explains.
In recent years, he has been much more active on social media, where he talks about financial literacy, ownership, but also current events. “What gives me hope is that my children will have a lot of opportunities, because non-traditional media and digital platforms are growing.”
It may well be the way of the future for those who we hear less but who have so much to say.