Howard University has consistently ranked among the nation’s top Historically Black Colleges and Universities for its education, faculty, and staff. But beyond academics, Howard is also nurturing one of the biggest and often overlooked communities: The Blerd. Let’s talk about it.
Now, you might be thinking to yourself, “What is a Blerd?” To put it simply, the term stands for Black nerd. According to the Michigan Daily, it started in the 1990s as a descriptor for Black folks with interests in anime, “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” and any other intergalactic or superhero-like comic, film, or TV series, and it has been a steadily growing community since 2006.
A recent article done by Howard University’s The Dig, has brought to light that the HBCU has become Blerd central by fostering spaces that enrichen student learning, creativity and interaction with other cultures. Kenton Rambsy, an associate professor of African American literature at the University, told The Dig that Black nerds come in various forms such as music icons like Kendrick Lamar, Lupe Fiasco and even cartoon characters like Huey Freeman from the hit show “Boondocks.”
Online, the term has become a safe space for Black folks from racist people who push Blerds out of the nerd community and from Black people who shun Blerds for “acting” or “wanting acceptance” from White folks. Since 2017, Black nerds have had a physical safe space, too, with the founding of Blerdcon by Hilton George, a proud Black nerd.
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The faculty staff at Howard University has built up a strong Blerd culture that will help to to nurture the next generation of Black academics, who will no doubt go on to do incredible things.
How are they doing this? By creating programs that allow students to chat with various industry trailblazers who will inspire students to aim for the seemingly impossible. In May, Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to travel into space, visited the Howard campus to talk about interstellar travel during Howard’s 2026 Research Month event series, according to The Dig.
Furthermore, the HBCU’s executive director of university libraries created a graphic novels section in the library. This section is not just to appease fans of manga or comic books, but it also inspires a fresh type of learning that engages art with various cultures and histories, per The Dig.
But don’t just take the faculty’s work as the only sign of Blerds on campus; Howard University students are making big moves on their own, too. According to the report, student Noah Greene’s nerdy interest in anime has led him to create his own manga series and become a finalist in the Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program. As president of the Anime Club, he and his fellow Blerds were invited to the premiere of the popular Japanese anime film “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle.”
While the Blerd community might seem small to those who aren’t in it, institutions like Howard are proving that they are mighty, intelligent academics who excel in their chosen fields. Blerds, like Zora Neale Hurston, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and many more, have been some of the greatest changemakers in American history. Howard University graduate Dr. Zakiyyah Ali told The Dig that Blerds and HBCUs like Howard are the very core of who African-American’s are and play an important role in building a better future for Black American’s.
“We have always been intellectual. We could not have created any of our civilizations if we hadn’t been intellectual. Black people have created a world for themselves that not even they could imagine. They created a world for their children’s children’s children. That is Afrofuturism,” she said.
