I was invited to Washington, D.C., to interview Zazie Beetz about her latest film, They Will Kill You. I said yes — the film’s trailer had intrigued me. But when the publicist added, “She’s speaking at BlerDCon.”
A quick Google search told me it was a convention celebrating “BlerD,” a mashup of Black and nerd culture. I gave a thumbs up and packed my bags.
It wasn’t until I was in my Uber on the way to the venue that I realized I was about to walk into something much bigger.
At a stoplight, I spotted a man dressed in a Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse costume, perched in perfect Spidey position on the edge of a ledge while a friend snapped photos. That’s when it clicked: BlerDCon isn’t just a convention. It’s a celebration of Black fandom.
And when I say people tap in, they tap in.
Arriving at the venue, I was greeted by Cyclops from X-Men. Naturally, I snapped a photo.
Inside, the convention floor was filled with Black fans of all ages cosplaying their favorite characters. One attendee embodied Chris Tucker’s flamboyant Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element. Anime warriors posed beside Marvel heroes. Entire friend groups showed up in fantastical lewks. And there were plenty of fans gathered around the booth for One Piece, Netflix’s live-action series based on the wildly popular Japanese anime.
I obviously hadn’t gotten the memo about dressing as your favorite superhero or anime character. But I did what any good reporter would do. I whipped out a notebook and declared, “I’m the Black Lois Lane!”
Founded in 2017 by Hilton George, the annual Washington, D.C. gathering was created as a space for Black fans of sci-fi, anime, comics, gaming and fantasy culture to connect, create and celebrate the stories they love.
“This is cultural expression, George told me of this self-proclaimed Black nerd convention. “This is where cosplayers, writers, artists, and community activists come together and just get a chance to connect.”
George pointed out that even when cosplayers recreate well-known characters, Black fans often put our own cultural spin on them.
“Maybe for anime we twist up our dreds like the horns instead of putting on a helmet, right? Or taking a Sailor Moon cosplay in kente cloth.”
At the They Will Kill You booth, fans had fake bloody face gashes painted on and snapped selfies as one of the demonic killers chasing Beetz’s character in the horror film.
The upcoming sci-fi film Project Hail Mary, which stars The Bear’s Lionel Boyce, was also present at the convention. The project explores space exploration and science, themes that have resonated strongly with organizations like the National Society of Black Engineers. Indeed, this is a space where Black fans can fully embrace genres that mainstream culture once suggested weren’t “for us.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. A 2023 study from Parrot Analytics found that 17 percent of Black Americans identify as anime fans, compared to about 13 percent of the overall U.S. population. Black audiences are also among the most engaged viewers of superhero films and sci-fi franchises.
And that engagement translates to spending power. According to Nielsen, Black consumers wield more than $1.6 trillion in buying power in the U.S., influencing everything from entertainment trends to fashion and pop culture.
“We have always been here. We may not have always had the places to gather,” George exclaimed. “Being accepted both within our own community and outside is very important.”
He also believes nerd culture itself is undergoing a transformation.
“Nerd culture is now becoming mainstream. It’s in fashion, it’s in music, it’s in food, it’s in art, and everybody’s in on it,” he stated. “I think there’s going to be a different relationship to that word in a few years from the next generation coming up, and I think people are going to be fighting to become black nerds if they aren’t.”
Before the They Will Kill You panel — featuring Beetz and moderator Lynae Vanee, the audience was treated to an 18-minute preview of the film.
And we did what we do best: We screamed. We warned the characters. We loudly judged their questionable decisions in real time. The camaraderie was infectious. The entire room reacted together, turning the screening into a shared experience.
It was pure Black joy over comedic horror that brought us all together.
“We are the taste makers. What Black people do, the things that we give our thumbs up to, everybody else wants to come be a piece of it,” George declared. “That’s just been the natural dynamic of the country. From a marketing and community-building perspective, we have to embrace a little bit of that. We have to take that dollar and that responsibility seriously. And as soon as we do that, I mean, all bets are off.”
As I packed up to leave my first BlerDCon, I noticed a family walking by dressed as Minions — mom, dad and their 18-month-old, who resembled a tiny banana.
At BlerDCon, fandom is a family affair.