Black Lives Matter has gone meta. And while Saphia Maxamed, founder of the Black Lives Matter Licensing Movement will be the first to admit that even she doesn’t grasp the full extent of what the metaverse is, she knows she needs the Black Lives Matter Licensing Movement to be there.
Because there is where the future is being built.
The Movement is embarking on its voyage into the virtual space with Sine Wave Breakroom, a purpose-driven grid – or platform – provider with which the Black Lives Matter metaverse is being created. Together, the partnership is building a world where the conversation can be perpetuated, communities can be built, and Black Lives and Black History can be celebrated.
On 25 May this year, the Black Lives Matter metaverse is even hosting a George Floyd Memorial Concert and an Africa Day celebration event.
As partnerships go, they don’t come much more significant than this one right now. And to understand why, it’s important to recognise what the metaverse is, in its current state of construction.
“The metaverse is the interconnectedness we experience today between the real world and the lives we live virtually,” explains Warren Parker Mills, founder of BeforeStores and host of the BeforeStores podcast, the future-gazing platform helping brands harness the potential of the virtual space.
“It’s something that really is only in its nascency. People today are talking about the metaverse and Web3 like it’s here. But we’re not even close to its full potential. It’s a frontier that we’ve only started to build and explore.”
We are in the creator stage. And if the metaverse is our chance to build beautiful new worlds in which to spend an increasing amount of our spare time – whether that’s via gaming or social media, content streaming, or whatever else – it is crucial that these spaces carry on the Black Lives Matter message of representation and equality.
“They are an extension of the lives we live in the real world, and as such there is a vital need for morality, equality, and an equal distribution of power and influence within them,” says Warren.
The latest research from McKinsey has found that Millennials, Gen X, and Gen Z are spending between four and five hours a day in the metaverse.
“This doesn’t mean they are sat there with a headset on,” Warren continues. “But this is where they are interacting and learning about the world.”
Development of the Black Lives Matter metaverse is being headed up by Georgina Wellman and Brendan Nel, the head of business development and chief marketing officer at Sine Wave, respectively. The team’s experience in purpose- driven world-building is pretty much unparalleled. Projects to their name include the NGO EcoPeace’s recreation of the Jordan River, a virtual world that brings Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli young adults together to discuss climate change; and SMASH, a STEM learning platform for underrepresented and underprivileged youth looking to up-skill to attain careers.
The team made moves to work with Black Lives Matter Licensing Movement two years ago after approaching Saphia to take on an advisory role in bringing better representation into their virtual worlds.
“Initial discussions revolved around the need for people to create character avatars that actually reflected black people: skin tones, hair, our body shapes; all of this needs to be reflected in the virtual world,” says Saphia. “In the virtual world, you can look like anything you want, but I can’t look like a black woman.”
Saphia has since lost track of the number of projects the Black Lives Matter metaverse has spun since introductions were made; from BLM-branded virtual merchandise to a George Floyd Memorial Concert, virtual recreations of the march along Pennsylvania Avenue or live-streaming Black events from around the world.
“We will even be working with the fashion designer Sibu to live stream his show from London Fashion Week in February in the Black Lives Matter metaverse,” explains Saphia. “We don’t want to lose sight of the message of Black Lives Matter and why we are landing in this space. This space is a place in which to push those conversations further and give back to Black Communities.”
In this regard, Saphia plans to work with youths and creators to begin building the Black Lives Matter world, training them in virtual world development and arming them with future skills for the jobs of tomorrow.
Inclusivity and accessibility therefore plays a major part in all of this.
“You don’t need particular hardware, or a headset,” says Sine Wave Breakroom’s Georgina. “You could be sat in an internet cafe? and you can participate. Accessibility to everyone is crucial. As a safe space for people to have conversations and build their community, this is a world that needs to be policed. And that’s what we’ve made for Saphia and Black Lives Matter Licensing Movement, a virtual world that she and the team can control.”
A few days after our initial interview takes place, Products of Change receives a voice note from Saphia. She’s just spent an hour fine-tuning the look of her own avatar with the help of Brendan and Georgina. She’s excited.
“It was such an interesting process. Whenever I’ve seen black avatars before, I’ve always felt these were white people with a colour put on top of them,” she explains. “But we worked through everything I felt wasn’t right. The result was amazing. This is the first time I’ve truly felt included in this world.”
And this, beyond all else – the concerts and the livestreams – is exactly what the Movement is all about. Putting Black Lives well and truly at the table. Whether it’s a virtual one or not.
