ESPN's race-baiting blog The Undefeated (which attempts to focus on black contributions to culture, sports, etc,) underwent a name change on Tuesday. Now, the blog will be known as “Andscape.”
When users click on the website, they are greeted by a banner with the bizarre proclamation you see below:
But what exactly drove the name change? What does it mean to say that “blackness” can be infinite? Can anyone explain what exactly is extra special about being black and contributing to society at large?
Editor-in-Chief Raina Kelly explains the reasoning for the brand change:
“Over the last five years, we blew through the intersections of sports, race and culture into the myriad intersections of Black and Everything. We do a lot now. But we want to do more and we need a name that can grow with us …We’re not going to engage in conversations that measure our humanity as if it were in doubt.”
Ok, so that bewildering answer takes care of the first question, but that still leaves two more to answer, for which Kelly also gives us her answer.
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“There is work to be done and we’ll report on it. We’ll do it by turning a Black lens on anything and everything …This is what Andscape means to me: AND is for the infinite ways we define Blackness, and SCAPE is for our inclusive, eclectic and deeply dimensional view of the world.”
All of the reasoning for the name change suggests that they are still buying into the idea that the world is divided into blacks and everyone else, and that their value as people comes from having a specific perspective on life as a result of having a certain skin color.
But the thing is, no one doubts the value of their humanity … except for themselves. Opinions and a unique perspective on life do not inherently make you valuable as a person, and if Kelly believes that the only way Blacks can express their value is "turning a black lens on everything," or endlessly redefining what it means to be black, that’s a very shallow way to find a sense of meaning.
This worldview does nothing but make black people retreat within themselves and keep them focused on remaining trapped in one element of their identity as humans. There is nothing freeing about living this way, and creating a blog to write about it will only perpetuate an unhealthy way of viewing the world and yourself.