DreamCon 2025 Reflection
Me (Right) cosplaying as Ty Lee from Avatar: the Last Airbender and my friend Bre (left), cosplaying as Shadow from Sonic.
Hey Y’all!
I had so much fun at DreamCon! For those who may not know, DreamCon is a convention created by RDCWorld (which stands for Real Dreamers Change the World) that centers Black fans and creators in spaces like anime, gaming, comics, and pop culture. What began as a response to exclusion from mainstream conventions has evolved into a vibrant community built on joy, creativity, and belonging. At its core, DreamCon is about highlighting the diverse talents within fandom spaces. It’s a celebration of imagination, culture, and connection. With many partners such as YouTube, Twitch, Blerd, and Puzzles of Color supporting them, RDCWorld continues to build something expansive and empowering for fans who have long felt pushed to the margins. They remind us of what’s possible when people stop waiting for permission and create a space on their own terms. In their first year, they attracted about 600 attendees. This year, that number grew to 28,000.
The first day was a bit rough because I only got 4 hours of sleep and didn’t eat my next full meal until 6 p.m. on Friday, a full 24 hours later. Lareau was right when she said you need to force yourself to eat when doing qualitative research. Speaking of, I was able to connect with so many people via my 2-3 minute street-style interviews. I talked to a few Black nerds via Zoom after the con as well.
The DreamCon panels were immaculate! I went to the Be Blexed panel, and a New Orleans educator, Black Fairy Senpai/Dorrian Roberson, talked about nurturing the nerdiness within Black kids so that they grow into healthy adults. Far too often Black kids are told who they should be and they fall victim to self-fulfilling prophecies, but instead of bullying Black kids who like anime or other nerd-coded activities, we should encourage them and as older Black nerds, we have to openly be ourselves to be a representation for those kids.
On day two, Bre and I went to a panel called Black Furries- Yes We Exist led by YayJayBae, where we talked about common misconceptions people have about furries, famous Black furries, and then we asked ourselves if we were furries. You can actually watch that panel here. I got to spend some time in the tabletop room, and they had a pretty well-rounded selection of games. Recce and I pulled out Ticket to Ride to play, but we ended up talking about the con and just life. It was a nice cool down in between panels.
On day two, I cosplayed as Ty Lee from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Coming out of the exhibitor hall, I saw Atlanta cosplaying as Fire Nation Katara. The funny thing is, I thought she was Fire Nation as well, so I was fooled! We got this fun video together.
We squeezed in one more panel before leaving to eat on day two, and that was the Cartoons Who Were Secretly Black: Part 3 hosted by The Black Speed, which was the largest panel we attended (maybe 200 people). I wanted to go to this panel so badly because it’s a fun game I enjoy playing myself. There are so many characters who are not technically Black but are heavily coded as Black, like Darwin from Amazing World of Gumball or Bubby from Misadventures of Flapjack. This panel did not disappoint. Sandy Cheeks from SpongeBob. Smart, no-nonsense Black woman. Goofy. Single Black dad. Frylock from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Fam. His fries are dreadlocks. Garnet from Steven Universe. Do I even need to explain it? She is voiced by Estelle. Of course, in all these panels, we discussed much more, but I will talk more about it in the dissertation. It was such a great experience. It felt like a conversation. A discussion. You could see the diversity in the Black nerd community. We discussed how real some of these characters feel. We talked about the nuance in these characters; how some of them are problematic representations, but because this is the representation we have, we reframe them and make them relatable to us. By the end of the panel, we discussed Black representation in contemporary cartoons (i.e., Craig of the Creek, Young Love, and Moon Girl) and real Black characters in cartoons we loved as kids (i.e., Irwin from Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and AJ from The Fairly OddParents).
Majin Buu on The Black Speed’s honorable mentions of characters that are Black coded.
One of the slides from the Cartoons Who Were Secretly Black: Part 3; we’re talking about contemporary Black cartoons and Young Love on HBO.
I did have a major researcher flop, though. I had planned to conduct a focus group at DreamCon as well, but I thought no one had signed up. It turns out the focus group Qualtrics wasn’t coded to notify me, and I discovered this a week after the con. I emailed every single person to apologize. If you were one of those people, I am so sorry again! I’m extremely embarrassed, but I just have to take this as a learning lesson. Whoever will one day hear this story, I will end up a mentor and learn a lot. Even if you've tested Qualtrics 10 times, consider testing it 10 more times to ensure your workflow makes sense and is configured as needed.
Instead of ending on that bummer, I’ll end on a really positive experience! On day three, we spent most of the day in the exhibitor's hall shopping, meeting our idols, Gary Anthony Williams and Tony Weaver. Reece was super hyped to meet him. She loved him in Who’s Line Is It Anyway. I know him as Uncle Ruckus from The Boondocks. My dad loved The Boondocks, so it meant a lot that I could meet him! Tony ran out of his book, Weirdo, so Class, the Black owned bookstore he partnered with, shipped books instead. Tony was signing an Avery sticker at the con, so folks who have the book shipped to them can stick it in the book. When I met him, I told him about my dissertation and how his videos had been extremely critical in helping me articulate the highs and lows of being a Black nerd. He said my dissertation sounded interesting and like something he would want to read. That made my day! The book came in the mail a few days ago, and I’ve been loving it. It's so relatable, and a lot of the things mentioned I’ve heard in the dissy interviews. One day, I will talk about those similarities in a blog post!
An autographed copy of Tony Weaver’s book, Weirdo!
Overall, DreamCon was such an incredible experience. It really helped provide evidence of something that I already knew and observed: there is a Black nerd culture. There was an HBCU meet-up, a Spades, Domino, and UNO tournament, after-parties, a lot of weed, a pop-up tattoo parlor and barber, and a charity dodgeball and basketball tournament. Megan Thee Stallion was there, and she announced her anime!
At one point on the second day in the exhibit hall, there was a DJ. Seeing a bunch of Black cosplayers dance to Wipe Me Down and Walk it Out is top-tier Black nerd behavior. It was also interesting seeing other Black folks interested in the same anime I love, which made me think, what makes anime like Soul Eater and Dragon Ball Z so loved by Black communities? Stay tuned. :D
Quick video of Black cosplayers and other fellow anime and gaming lovers dancing to Walk It Out.
I posted some pictures on Instagram if you’re interested! Down the line, I’ll post some film pictures as well once they’re developed! :D
If you are even thinking about going to Dreamcon as a Black nerd, you definitely should. It feeds my soul to see so many Black folks cosplaying, nerding out, having a good time, expressing and experiencing joy and amusement. Everyone was so friendly, too! Houston will see me again next year.
Andrea Smith (She/They)
PhD Candidate
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Department of Sociology and Criminology
University of Iowa
