Community was the infrastructure

Community did not arrive fully formed. It was built through comments, DMs, late-night messages, shared language, and mutual recognition. This page holds the ways Black girls, women, and femmes found one another and made the internet livable together.

We stick together.

Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson

“I built meaningful connections online by staying true to myself and sharing content that felt authentic, yet deeply relatable. From the beginning, it was important to me that people could see a piece of themselves reflected in my work… It’s about creating moments of recognition and belonging; where someone can pause, feel seen, and be inspired.”

Khia D. Ancalade

“Connection, for me, has meant finding people who see me and who get me (and allowing them to find me, too). I fundamentally believe that Black women navigate this world in ways that draw us together… Care is different, though. bell hooks teaches us that care and love are different. Care is about affection, protection, and relation… I am honored to say that I have found both online.”

Jenn M. Jackson, PhD

“There are two things that really have kept me showing up and staying visible in the digital space… First, just the connection I’ve made with other black women who are appreciative of me making myself visible, or vulnerable or just authenticity being myself… When people connect with what you have to say or how you are showing up, it’s a really nice feeling.”

Sabine Quetant

“Honestly, community. The people I met and how they made me feel. How I am able to make my fellow Black women feel seen and represented. Even if the space isn’t built for us, we still have to find commonality where we are planted. It reminds me of my experience going to a PWI. It’s not built for us, but we in here, planted firmly at the Black table or in the BSU lounge. Yes, this place isn’t built for us, but we stick together and remain strong.”

Rowana Abbensetts-Dobson