Black Girl Gamers Founder Jay-Ann Lopez on Her Journey, Representation and the Future of Gaming
Nearly a decade ago, Jay-Ann Lopez failed to find a safe space for herself and other passionate Black women in gaming to convene. With most gaming communities riddled by racism and misogyny, she took a shot in the dark and started her community-powered organization: Black Girl Gamers.
Eight years later, Black Girl Gamers has grown into the largest network of Black female and non-binary gamers, with over 9,000 members. Beyond being the go-to hub to meet other gamers, Jay-Ann and her team have grown to offer consulting services, talent representation and more.
And if there's anything you should take away from Jay-Ann's story: take up space. That's how you see change. It might be vulnerable, daunting and messy, but thanks to her courage risks, gamers around the world feel like they have a place in a white, male-dominated industry where they belong.
Below, Jay-Ann sat down with Sweety High for a candid conversation about her journey with Black Girl Gamers. Continue reading to learn more about her history with video games, representation of playable Black female characters on the screen and how she wants to see the industry change, from more Black women streamers to Black women having a louder voice in the development of video games.
Sweety High: How did you get your start in gaming?
Jay-Ann Lopez: When I was around 6 or 7 years old, my uncle bought me my first console, a Nintendo.
During that same time, my mum—who was a single mother—would take me to the radio station where she presented. I would play Doom on the PC while she was working, and that's where my love of games began.
(Photo Credit: Michael Stuart Daley)
SH: What keeps you drawn to it?
JL: Honestly, the same thing that started it: my love of different worlds. I love fantasy, magic and exploring people's imaginations. It keeps me going within gaming itself and the communities.
I also enjoy the sense of commonality when you meet others who love the same game as you. You have fun, and it's a lot of collaboration—collaboration that you don't see in other many other places, except sports, dance and other similar physical activities. It's one of the only digital activities that allow that kind of camaraderie.
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SH: Do you still play any of those same games that nurtured your love of gaming? And for any beginner Black girl gamers, what video games and communities would you recommend?
JL: I don't play many of the same games anymore. I haven't played Doom in a while, but I still play Mario games on my Switch. Now, I have all the consoles and platforms, so I play all kinds of games.
The one type of game that still has a hold on me is fantasy. As I said, I love magic. I love playing a character that has superpowers or some kind of elemental power. I don't play the same games, but I do look for the same things in other games.
Of course, I'd recommend my own. Black Girl Gamers is our community-powered organization. We have the largest community of Black women in the world. People from the age of 16 to 65 are in this community. All different genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities and languages.
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SH: What ways have you seen the impact of your company?
JL: I've seen a resurgence of new platforms targeting Black audiences, which is great. Events replicate some of the stuff we do.
I've also seen Black creators learn from us and learn how to navigate working with brands. It's been a ripple effect from the way Black Girl Gamers works with our creators and brands to bridge the gap between the two.
People have gotten jobs from the events we host.
(Photo Credit: Chanel Moye)
Our event that we co-produce with NNESAGA, Gamer Girls Night In, became a safe space for women and non-binary people from a lens that they can relate to. That in itself is impactful.
I've seen an increased emphasis on playable Black female characters because we were shouting about it for so long. I know we've had the impact because games are not necessarily focusing on any other direct demographic. It's interesting because that's not the point of what we were saying. Definitely have Black women as playable characters, but for companies to solely focus on that demographic is fascinating as to why they don't now focus on having Asian female characters or non-Black Latina characters. I credit that to our platform, our voice and our impact in the space for proving Black consumers generate more media value than some of their white counterparts.
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SH: And what are you most proud of in your journey thus far?
JL: Everything. The journey. The team. The opportunities we're giving to our members. I'm just proud to see people grow in and of their own right.
There are so many streamers that have touched Black Girl Gamers in some way and have a positive relationship with us. That's an important thing I'm proud of—to show there is a way to create a positive space. A lot of people think it's impossible, and it can feel impossible. It's exhausting to deal with people's emotions and behavior. If you stick with it and have a team who grow to be as passionate as you are, you can create something beautiful. I'm so proud of that.
(Photo Credit: Chanel Moye)
SH: We don't think it's a secret that we don't have a Black girl gamer that sits upon the highest ranks. Do you believe there's a future where we have—what, to us, would be—a Beyoncé figure? What is the reason for that lack of representation?
JL: Well, the reason for the lack of representation is the same as it is in any other industry: people practicing nepotism and white people gatekeeping and believing they're the default. In gaming, it started because they specifically targeted white men after the crash in the 1980s.
I wouldn't want a Beyoncé figure, at least not in the same way. There are plenty of white men and women who have strong platforms that allow them to survive and have really great careers and salaries as streamers. I think we should have the same for Black women.
(Photo Credit: Michael Stuart Daley)
I tend not to focus on streamers because they are not the end-all, be-all of this industry. There are people who work in the industry and deserve the exact same amount of reverence and consideration, especially the marginalized groups who deal with quadruple more than their white counterparts.
I don't want a huge streamer that is a Black woman as the end goal. We need Black people to have equity with our white counterparts.
In the United States, around 4% of the workforce is Black. In the United Kingdom, 5% of the workforce is non-white, with a percentage of that being Black people. If you think about that on a global scale, that's probably between 2 to 5% of the industry being Black.
I've also been very vocal in the past, and as I mentioned before, I have driven some change toward having playable female Black characters. You can create a Black character all you want, but if you don't understand the difference between a Black-American, Black-Brazilian and Black-Jamaican woman, you're not supposed to be creating these characters. You don't understand that Black people can be any and all things the same way white people can. It's about having people who are able to make and have the same amount of power as our white counterparts while creating these games.
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SH: For any Black woman who wants to break into gaming industry, what advice would you give them? Are there any hidden-gem resources you've found over the years?
JL: Well, I'm not sure. It's kind of like saying you want to work in films. Do you want to act? Write? It's the same thing in gaming. Do you want to be a streamer? Do you want to design art? Voice acting? There are so many different things you can do.
If anyone is trying to get into the gaming industry, try to understand what it is about gaming you like. Decide what areas you want to enter. For instance, with voice acting, maybe you can take virtual courses and search for casting calls. Understand what area you want to work in, and seek that path.
(Photo Credit: Jolade Olusanya)
SH: Anything else you'd like to share?
JL: I want to give a shout-out to everyone that's worked with us. It's a great journey. I'm really enjoying it. At the helm of this, it's tiring and scary, but it's wonderful. Every step that we take, we're making history because nothing existed like us before.
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