Saminaka, in RL and SL

A notecard that I received on June 1, 2008 as an introduction to the region of Saminaka stated:
“Sannu da Zuwa! Welcome to Saminaka--a little slice of West Africa with a Nigerian Middle Belt flavor! We're just getting started, but we will supplement its beauty with Nigerian architecture from various regions that will be shops. Plenty of relaxing activities will remain--well, even more than now! You are always welcome to come and bring your friends, ride the ostrich, avoid the jellyfish, enjoy Guarara Falls at midnight! There will be Nigerian music video events, too! If you're interested in joining the group to be kept apprised of progress, wander into the office (the only building so far--temporary!) and click the sign to join. We're happy you're here! best at sunset.....”

In the search (although the TP coordinates provided there leave you under water), the region is further described: “Think Middle Belt of Nigeria--Jos region! Beautiful Guarara Falls, rock formations, wildlife. Enjoy the free aeroputter and see the entire island of Saminaka from the sky! Get a haircut under the tree, find the chamaeleon!” Saminaka is the original name for a RL region of Nigeria that is today referred to as Lapai, Niger; in SL, its 51088 square meters are still sparsely trafficked. On the continent, the region is served by the Abuja International Airport named for Nnamdi Azikiwe, and in SL, the landing point for the telehub takes you to the village of Ikorodu. There you will find a lovely and welcoming town center being developed by Tamzin Barzane, who has a number of stores offering Afrocentric modern and traditional clothing, jewelry, and art, including masks, statues, woven rugs and hangings based on actual textiles from the Continent, baskets, pottery and other furnishings, housed in authentic-looking clay-walled, tin-roof buildings. After you are done shopping, or just need to take a break from it to catch your breath, you can settle yourself in the square and play a fast-moving game of Mancala, or stroll over to Tarkwa Bay, where you can dance under the palm trees and in the sand to the originator of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, and those he inspired. The rezzable Aero-putter makes it easy to fly over from Ikorodu Market to Nupekwo Quarter, a residential compound that includes Katamba Gallery and Cultural Center (and a large ant hill—Tamzin, how do I call the anteater to come out!?). You can sit outside with the residents to cook and eat, or get your hair braided, and enjoy the music there. I can't wait to see what else Tamzin Barzane has planned for the region. It looks like it will be a wonderful opportunity to increase awareness and appreciation for Nigeria in SL and in RL, as hopefully more residents will invest some time and skills in creating and sustaining cultural spaces in SL.

Gratitude and Patience

I want to thank all of the interesting folks I've been meeting in SL who have been so helpful with my research project and willing to talk with me about their work lives and fun times in SL! I've been so busy making contacts and attending events that I have hardly any time to get back to blogging, but rest assured, I will be adding lots of posts over the next weeks! I have so much material to share, I don't even know where to begin...last weekend's SL Greek Convention and Peacefest, the many tributes to Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes in SL, modeling contests, photography contests, new sims for Sugar Hill, AvaUru Galleries, Saminaka and Robben Island, new DJs (and old ones!), new stores, new clubs, new publications, and of course, new clothes!

For those of who with whom I have made initial contact via notecard, thanks for your patience as I try to coordinate schedules and figure out a time to follow up with you. For those of you I haven't yet met in-world, well, I look forward to hanging out with you.

Black Style and Beauty around SL

Why does race matter in SL?

Well, why does gender matter in SL? The thing is, although SL allows us to imagine ourselves as dragons or robots or flying mounds of spaghetti, most of us choose to tool around in human forms--idealized and often hyper-sexualized forms, but nonetheless human ones. And not all human beings (in fact very few of us) are blond and blue-eyed. Some of you may be asking, well, why make a big deal of racial difference in SL? My interest in writing about African American and African Diasporic presence in SL is two-fold: as noted in my initial post, I want to highlight the contributions that black people make as creative forces in SL, as builders and designers, as event hosts and as entrepreneurs, who cater to black consumers like themselves. The fact that these activities exist and succeed in SL help to make this virtual world a welcoming and appealing environment for residents of African descent who want to socialize and collaborate with others of similar background, and it also helps us to make SL a culturally diverse and truly international place. My second interest in exploring African Diasporic and African American presence in SL is to examine how black culture is being represented and experienced in SL. Yes, this does mean that I am interested in asking about the existence of racism in SL, and examining how and why certain incidents of intolerance occur. Many of us come to SL to be able to embody our ideal selves--a version of ourselves that is physically perfect, but one that is also fully and profoundly expressive emotionally, artistically, and even intellectually--and while many of us also imagine that this ideal self is easily accepting of cultural differences, gender differences, language differences, political differences, the fact is that actually negotiating such differences in the variety of social spaces and situations that exist in SL is not always easy. Misunderstandings can result; confrontations do occur, and acceptance and tolerance does not always happen. Certainly, full inclusion of differences cannot exist if we pretend that racism and sexism has not been imported into SL along with the various human appearances and attitudes we give our avatars, or if we fail to acknowledge that some of the ways in which a mainstream, white middle-class heterosexual English-speaking social space has been brought into SL as the *normal* environment in which we participate in SL, and other varieties of experience are thus marginalized. For myself, as an African American female academic who studies and teaches about race, class and gender in American culture, it is extremely necessary to question the social dynamics that exist in SL in light of these issues. I feel it is also my responsibility as a resident to endorse and protect the grand possibilities of reaching for that ideal world where intolerance and hatred (racial and otherwise) does not exist. It might very well do some good for those of us who are English speakers, for example, to actually learn to communicate in Arabic or German or French or Japanese rather than relying on the often awkward Babbler for translations or always expecting others to be able to speak English. It might be enlightening for those who gender-switch or race-switch in their Second Lives to take some of their developing sensibilities of how the other half is treated sometimes back into their First Lives, and become a bit more aware of what prejudice and discrimination really mean.

This is a new thing for me....blogging, that is

....but I thought it might fill a need for information, for those of us in SL who are of African descent and trying to connect with others throughout the diaspora. I hope to share with interested readers stories about the people I am interviewing now--men and women who are contributing their massive talent and amazing creativity to representing all aspects of African American and African Diasporic cultures in SL. This will not just be a calendar of events, although I hope to be able to offer that as well, but it should be a resource for finding out about the many businesses we are running in SL. Who designs great clothes? Who makes the best skins and shapes? Who are the leading models of color? Who are the best photographers? Who is into wedding planning? Who owns spaces for rent for residential or business purposes? Who is publishing magazines? Where are the best clubs? How do I start a business in SL? And how can we collaborate, share our skills, and help each other be the best that we can be? I want everyone to know how black residents are contributing to the vibrant world that is Second Life, and to appreciate those contributions. If you have a story to tell, drop me a line!