On “The Event Horizon”: Harry Crosland #28DaysOfBlackCosplay

Returning to the airwaves as a guest on The Event Horizon here on SCIFI.radio, it’s Harry Crosland! The famed cosplayer and geek community activist joins hosts Gene Turnbow and Susan Fox this evening at 9 pm PT / Midnight Eastern for an hour of straight talk about one of his favorite fandom projects, #28DaysOfBlackCosplay.

It began in 2014 when 28 year old cosplayer Chaka Cumberbatch coined the hashtag to celebrate black cosplayers during Black History Month. In an interview with Forbes Magazine, Cumberbatch said, “It’s really about celebrating black cosplayers of all ages, all sizes and all skill levels.” Harry Crosland and his wife Gennine John-Crosland joined the movement at its founding, and have been movers and shakers in it ever since.

Gennine makes the costumes, and they both wear them. A towering six-foot-four, Crosland makes an imposing Bishop – and an even more remarkable Superman. Together, they are an important nexus for cosplayers and social awareness in the Baltimore, Maryland area. They run the very popular pop media web site PopCultureUncovered.com, an entirely fan-run enterprise that bests even some of the more popular commercial web sites.

Black cosplayers have long faced racist comments for posting their photos online. Cumberbatch said she’d finally had enough when a tone-deaf commenter responded to her Sailor Venus cosplay with, “For a black cosplayer… she did an amazing job!” The movement seeks to expand the consciousness of the geek public with respect to acceptance of cosplay by people whose skin color doesn’t happen to match that of the characters they portray. It also works to help cosplayers uplift one another and to remind us that cosplay is for everyone.

Today’s episode is #158 – last week’s was #159, so yes, they were broadcast out of order – and you can hear it starting this evening, and at the following times throughout the coming week:

 After that, you can get the episodes on iTunes or Stitcher as podcasts, as well as directly from our Event Horizon Archive.

The Event Horizon – It’s Sci-Fi for your Wifi.

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SCIFI Radio Staff

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