Hi Guys! I'm Darrel, nice to meet you. I know it's just a small amount of us now but I plan to add more people as more show interest in a future Blacks of Are.na Discord channel...

I want to provide something intentional and helpful to everyone involved, and so I turn a few questions your way to learn how a BOA Discord channel could help you and what sparked your interest in it in the first place.

I will use all of your feedback to structure out a stress-free space for us Black Are.na users to curate and expand our Are.na experience as we see fit.

Allow me to start with what inspired the idea for myself. As the Blacks of Are.na channel has grown and flourished, I have been connected with so many incredibly unique black artists pushing the limits of what "blackness" means yet who also manage to uplift and celebrate our culture.

I believe Are.na is a unique internet territory that welcomes curiosity and weirdness in a way many Black people aren't accustomed to online and irl.

I created BOA because my initial Are.na experience was very whitewashed and I wanted to locate Black intellectuals, artists, and change-makers who were uploading and hoarding content that would resonate with my identity.

I really want BOA to go beyond a cool channel for any and everyone to indulge in black culture and ideologies. I would like to see it extend into an active digital space for like-minded people of the Pan-African Diaspora to meet one another online and inform/inspire.

This is what birthed my necessity for a Blacks of Are.na Discord channel.

ALSO: Are.na is intentionally not a social network but quite frankly the only people I am interested in socializing with live on this site. I'm sure you see my dilemma.

I welcome you to join my solution.