Around 2010, the meme began to take off as a pervasive mode of digital communication and soon became a source of merchandising and commercialization. Some of it even benefited the meme creators. But however egalitarian the internet was supposed to be, creatives’ ability to profit off their viral content seems to depend on their race. André Brock, who teaches race, ethnicity, and new media at U-M, says that points to a stark difference in the way creators of color are viewed: “[They are] always viewed as lower class, and an example of what all black people must be doing,” Brock says. “When white people do that online, it’s promoted as their command of the digital space. Black people are never seen as enterprising.” The problem is especially glaring since many successful memes scoop their punchiness from black culture. But things are changing: Kayla Lewis (creator of the phrase “on fleek” ) is launching her own line of beauty products. She joins a growing force of people of color bent on getting their due for their digital creativity.
