Black dis/engagement: negotiating mainstream media presence and refusal

Abstract

This article presents a conceptualization and exploration of ‘Black dis/engagement’, which refers to Black people’s ‘non-presence’ in mainstream media and involves a simultaneous engagement with grassroots community media that divert – to various degrees – from the norms of white respectability. Based on 20 in-depth interviews with media practitioners (journalists, writers, digital media producers, and activists) of Black African descent in Belgium, this study challenges popular media diversity discourses that equate mainstream media visibility and engagement with social progress and disengagement with quite the opposite: an alarming loss. Drawing on Black ontology and feminist epistemologies of refusal rooted in histories of marronage and Black fugitivity, the study sheds light on how Black people create, write, and engage outside the mainstream, and examines the possibilities and limitations that Black individuals can encounter along the way. The study reveals that while some Black critical voices have found platforms within mainstream media, there is increasing skepticism and questioning among Black individuals and communities toward mainstream media infrastructures and cultures. Centering Black people’s agency and decentering the demands of dominant media cultures, the article sheds light on the diverse ways in which Black people have withdrawn from mainstream media, established digital community spaces, and engaged in various forms of community activities. Recognizing the fluid and contextual nature of Black dis/engagement, the author underscores the importance of valuing and understanding the diverse strategies employed by Black individuals and communities to navigate and resist oppressive media systems.