Given the uproar created in 2008 when the mainstream media broadcast segments of Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s sermons, the necessity of online sites dedicated to a shared marginalized racial identity seems apparent. This study examines such a site—the largest commercial site dedicated to the African American community, BlackPlanet.com—and argues for its continued importance as an online hush harbor.

Historically, hush harbors were places where black folks could negotiate their identity and affirm their community outside the purview of whites. These locations of emancipatory politics were traditionally associated with physical spaces such as barbershops. This study suggests BlackPlanet.com fulfills the discursive functions of a hush harbor.

John Edward Campbell is an Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Production at Temple University and works in the areas of critical media studies and political economy of communication.