Black Nerds Before The Obama Age

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuted on September 10th, 1990. The show featured Will Smith, who was then just a struggling rapper, as a street-smart black kid from West Philadelphia who was forced to move in with his rich aunt and uncle. Fresh Prince not only made Smith a star, but also popularized the black nerd character Carlton Banks, played by Alfonso Ribeiro.

In true nerd fashion, Carlton had no rhythm when dancing and preferred jamming to Barry Manilow over Barry White. Carlton was also a straight-A student who dreamnt of going to the best colleges, was a finance geek, and was also undeniably black.

No chronology of the history of black nerds would be complete sans a mention of Steve Urkel from Family Matters. Family Matters was a sitcom featuring a middle-class African-American family named the Winslows; the character of Steve Urkel, played by Jaleel White, debuted midway through the first season and quickly became the most popular character on the show. With his tight pants held up by suspenders and large conspicuous glasses–which often clashed or matched his clothing (your viewpoint will depend upon your fashion sense–you can spot the emerging nerd fashion aesthetic that black rappers, entertainers, and athletes would adopt over 20 years later.

Steve Urkel

While some blacks thought these super-smart, yet off-beat characters were “jokes”–other blacks had to have been seeing themselves on the screen, or else the characters would not have been as popular as they were.

Yet even before there was Carlton and Steve Urkel there was Malcolm–Malcolm X. While he may be best known for his fiery orations against the racism that he felt oppressed blacks, Malcolm X also had a deep love of mathematics and esoterica. When asked where the idea for his new last name came from, Malcolm said in a television interview that the “X stands for the unknown, as in mathematics.”

The Journey to #Nerdville Goes Through the School House Doors

Listening to a black nerd speak about his or her path to nerdiness you’ll probably hear about the other path, the path not taken. That path leads to the land of “coolness,” where nerdiness does not rule. To many, blackness is associated with “coolness”–but what if choosing to be cool means choosing to chase girls and the fast life? When faced with that choice, black nerds choose the first option: keep your head in the books because the pretty girls and the better life will come later.

Jason Triche, a graduate of Morehouse College, happily chose to embrace his inner nerd. His undergraduate major was business administration and now, while working in his hometown of Chigago, he is studying for a Master’s of Science in Software Engineering. Triche’s mother always believed in her son and told him that his nerdiness would pay dividends in his future. “I’ve always felt it necessary to do what it takes to succeed and apply that knowledge and wherewithal to prosper on my own,” said Triche.

Black nerds don’t accept the stereotype that to be a nerd is to anti-social or awkward. Yes, you can listen to rap music, play sports, and not be afraid to mix and mingle with the opposite sex and still be a nerd–as long as you refuse to put your intelligence on the backburner. Whether in the hallowed halls of academia or button-up settings of corporate America, black nerds fit in just as well at a Jay-Z concert as they do at an art gallery opening.

Take a moment to have a conversation with Andre Meadows, self-proclaimed black nerd and creator of the YouTube channel Black Nerd Comedy. He will relish regaling you with the details of his giant Smurf and Gremlins collection before providig you with one of the comedy routines that have helped his channel garner over 1,000 subscribers.

“I created the YouTube channel Black Nerd Comedy because I wanted to make funny videos and showcase my life to prove not all black people are thugs, not all nerds are pocket protector-wearing Trekkies and that black nerds do exist,” said Meadows. In 2007, when the Black Nerd Comedy channel was created, “being a black nerd was still taboo. I grew up in mostly black neighborhoods where I was obviously deemed “not black enough.”

Black people who embrace the nerd identity contend with issues of race and social class.

Researchers have completed surveys which lend support for the conclusion that poor and middle class blacks do not have social networks that are as rich or as beneficial as their white peers, which supports the notion of black middle class fragility. Consequently, fewer blacks, even those who have managed to reach the middle- and upper-classes, are less likely than their white peers to see representatives of their own race/ethnicity who have successfully bridged the ‘black is cool’ versus ‘black is intelligent’ divide. Choosing to label oneself a ‘black nerd’ can be a way for blacks to at once affirm their blackness, to affirm their intelligence, and to affirm their desire to find a place for themselves in social settings traditionally dominated by non-blacks.

Director and producer Andre Robert Lee created the film “The Prep School Negro” to start a discussion about the experience of poor blacks who enter elite, overwhelmingly non-black, prep schools. In the trailer for the film, Lee’s sister talks about the changes her brother underwent as a result of entering this new academic environment:”His talk is different, his walk is different,…[in reference to her new sense of social distance from her brother] you know you’re not them you’re us.”

Triche’s experiences growing up in Chicago echo the results of the survey:”On one side of street, you may see an expression of wealth, be it intellectually, financially, politically or spiritually. On the other side, you may see a total expression of poverty; you may even live in it or very close to it. The same for family members – some seem to do really well in some arenas, while others seem to suffer toiling in dead end opportunities with no option out. While not discounting the background and issues that plague people who are suffering as citizens of this city, I decided that I want the best that I can achieve for my family and myself.”

“In late elementary school and early in high school, it’d seemed that those students who would proclaim their coolness in opposition to my nerdiness were the ones who were not involved in their own education and busy gang banging and experimenting with drugs and sex, if they did anything at all,” said Jason Triche. “I always figured..If I can eventually get resources through my physical or mental skill, the women and then the sex will come when I can handle the potential consequences. Until then, just keep studying and practicing.”

“Funny story – in the 3 weeks before graduation, I received more phone calls and emails from my female peers than I did in the 8 years between the 9th grade and finishing my undergrad degree.” Well, there goes another nail in the coffin that says black women don’t like nerds.

Triche continues, “When partying with the adults who refuse to embrace any parts of nerdom, I find either they can’t afford it because our job/income levels and types of expenses don’t match, or that the situations will become uncertain. I’m not trying to have children with a woman who thinks she’s too cool to take care of them from a parental perspective. The nerds I know have traveled, been in the company of highly attractive and intellectual people, make money and have no limit to the places their minds can take them. I see nerds as producers. Who do you think is making the phone apps and websites that cool people use? Who builds those nice cars cool people have? I’ve found that as I get more mature, the nerdier side expresses
itself more. Now I have the resources and experience to substantiate the phrase, “nerds make the world go ‘round.”