As I read Cecily's response (which threw me off because that is my name), I had to really think about how I've presented myself as a "Black Blogger". First, I absolutely believe and understand the necessity for there to be such a thing as a "Blogging While Black" panel. I'm not surprised by this person's response (though I believe it to be ignorant at best). However, I think that there are certain implications that a response like that should have on the Black Blogging Community. Aside from the fact that we should be able to use vernacular in any way we choose to, there are others looking in on us and sometimes, I believe that we (myself included..and we, not meaning all of us, but those who do) continue to perpetuate this stereotypical view that we are not well spoken and intelligent. However, quite the opposite is true. There are a slew of incredibly educated black bloggers that prefer to express via this medium in a different sort of way. Blogging is an art and art doesn't always imitate life. Some of us are big players in the intelligensia game and in the world as a whole, moving and shaking while creating a alter-ego of ourselves in blog form. I believe that you guys (the ones who represented us all) are the TYPICAL black blogger. I mean, what the F**K does the typical Black Blogger look like, asides from being the obvious....Black.
Why the world continues to clump all blacks into one category is truly beyond me. We all are seperate entities, expressing ourselves in different ways and proving that this thing called blackness is indeed multifaceted. Perhaps, that comment can be the basis of the attempt to culminate more panels such as the one you just attended and that we can have a sort of roundtable discussion one day.

Nah, they would not have made that statement about white people, they are expected to speak well... when we do it, its a surprise.

I was at the BWB panel and have to agree it was one of the most engaging panels of SXSW 2005. Stepping away for a second, I can understand the use/misuse of saying "well spoken" -- I sat in on some sessions where panelists were so shy that they about put me to sleep. They spoke softly or weren't able to really get their message across, just spit out something about code or re-affirm what two-thirds of the room already knew. So, perhaps, in saying that the BWB panelists were well-spoken meant they were engaging as panelists, not just "you speak good for a Black person."

It's hard to separate one from the other, and the comment about Aaron strikes me as way way odd (Wtf??), but I'm just putting this out there -- and the fact that this was such an engaging and lively panel discussion is worthy of note.

It sounds like nonsense to me. My best guess is the person means well but needs to be educated. Perhaps they missed Chris Rock's routine on Colin Powell. I know black people don't want to spend all their time educating us white folks, but dropping this blogger a polite line might be worthwhile.

Interesting point from mollygolightly about the possible comparison to other panels. Plus, the fact that political awareness of any sort is hard won and cannot be considered a given, even if the blogger in question is also "well-spoken and intelligent."

I've really been hit lately by the fact that previous periods of political change and education don't seem to have much effect on people today. It's almost like we gained so much but retained so little.

Thanks for pointing this out.

I was given your blogger address by Rachel Fortune because I've expressed my interested in getting involved in the publishing business.

More on that later...about the statement...it sounds as if someone wrote it up solely to get a rile out of people. I mean just the way things were worded me myself I wouldn't even acknowledge it because it just feels like a ploy to invoke reaction.

I screwed up my comments and Trackback via Blacklist so I'm grateful for Technorati so I could find out about this discussion. I commented in greater detail on Cecily's site and will add those comments to my original post. I feel that I owe you a personal explanation so I'll try to do that briefly.

All of the panelists in the BWB session were incredibly well-spoken and clear and interesting. I meant to take notes throughout but put my laptop away so I could listen without the distraction of it on my lap. This resulted in a short and unclear post. I apologize for that. Your panel, and you in specific, gave me a great deal to think about and process and I honestly don't feel that I'm a good enough writer to do it justice.

Very few of the panels, even the next one I wrote about, consisted of speakers who had the same quality as the BWB speakers. I really enjoyed the 'where are the women" panel, but it didn't inspire me to put down the laptop as often because there were enough awkward and stumbling parts for me to take notes. My "well-spoken" comment had nothing to do with your race (although I completely understand how it could be taken that way in retrospect and apologize for that.) It did have everything to do with the fact that everyone was a good speaker. It's a conference organized by a bunch of introverts and geeks, social awkwardness and public speaking were rampant, but not on this panel.

Cecily also mentioned the "blogging while white" comment. This was sarcastic and mentioned because almost every other panel could have had this as a subtitle. However, there was no mention of race in any of the other panels I attended (except for the women blogging panels, and as a joke by an asian panelist). I have a problem with that. There was a lot of white privilege present at the conference and I found it disheartening at points.

I didn't have any of the suppositions that commenters here have suggested. It was a quickly written comment that I didn't think would be read by anyone I didn't know already and I apologize for not giving more time to my thoughts. I'm still processing and thinking about a lot of things I heard. Your panel has been the one that has stuck in my head the most. I apologize for taking so long to respond to this, but I hope it has cleared things up at least a little. I meant no harm and apologize for a careless, but not malicious, comment.

And I'm sorry that I jumped to conclusions and assumed the worst. I guess that's one of the big themes in my life. All that death and destruction just throws me off, I guess.

It's an understandable assumption, Clyde. I also meant to reply to MGL. I live in Chicago and was a huge fan of Aaron. I miss his writing and miss seeing him at Chicago blog events. I think he would have been a wonderful addition to this panel. One of the panelists mentioned him and how his passing seemed to go unnoticed by the blogosphere. I agree but would like to say it was a very big deal in Chicago.