The Rise and Fall of Black Planet (What Happened to BlackPlanet.com?)

A look back at the granddaddy of social media websites in Web 1.0.

Image created by the author

Before the social media giants that tower over us today, a website set out to connect people with people, specifically targeting the African American community. That website was none other than Black Planet, founded by Dr. Omar Wasow and Benjamin Sun.

History of the Founders

Dr. Wasow was born on December 22, 1970, in Nairobi, Kenya, to a father of German Jewish descent and his mother, an African American woman. His parents worked in education, his father was an economics professor, and his mother was in early childhood education. Despite his family’s multi-ethnic solid roots, they are thoroughbred New Yorkers to the core.

When compared to others’ experiences of the biracial struggle, Dr. Wasow is not exempt. According to a 1997 article The Chronicle of Higher Education Online, he speaks on feeling alienated from his black community as a biracial person when he attended Stanford in the early ’90s:

“One of the most transformative periods of my life occurred when I was a student at Stanford. When I arrived, I felt totally alienated from the black community on campus. At the time, I was pretty illiterate about race politics, as I had come from New York, where there was this one-world vibe. For all of the power, that idea has, it also shelters you from the harder realities.

“For example, the black community on campus was really polarized at the time. It was hard as a freshman to figure out where I fit in. As a result, I stayed on the periphery. But by the time I graduated I was a resident assistant in the Black Theme House, one of the minority-focused dormitories where those living in it are 50 percent or 60 percent of a particular racial group. I went from being marginal to being at the center.

“I was in a place where every time I left it I felt like the rest of the world was not as comfortable or as familiar. It’s surprising then that not only did I become savvier about race politics in this country but I also became more at peace with the world. It might be because the experience gave me real love and respect for black folks and our history.”