Today, Jabari talks with UofSC SJMC Assistant Professor Dr. Wesley Stevens. Dr. Stevens’ research focuses on the regulation of Black identity on social media. Her recent work examines Instagram and how White social media influencers appropriate Black culture and aesthetics to build their brand and increase their following, rendering Black identity a lucrative commodity. She also looks at how consumer logics become accessible to individuals through digital platforms and is exacerbated by discriminatory algorithms. Jabari and Dr. Stevens discuss her recently completed dissertation, which explores how Black influencers navigate the highly competitive and commercialized field of influencing, a space characterized by hypervisibility and a fraught politics of representation.
Uncommon Naledge is hosted by Dr. Jabari Evans and edited and produced by Connor Bird.
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Original music for introduction and outro produced by Michael "Double 0" Aguilar.
