ESPN’s blog ‘The Undefeated” Changes Name To “Andscape”

On Tuesday, ESPN’s racist blog The Undefeated, which focuses on black contributions in culture and sports, was renamed. Now, the blog will be known as “Andscape.”

Clicking on the website will bring up a banner with this bizarre proclamation.

So what was it that drove this name-change? What does it mean to say that “blackness” can be infinite? What is it that makes black people unique and contributes to the society? 

Raina Kelly, Editor-in Chief, explains why the brand has changed.

“Over the last five years, we blew through the intersections of sports, race and culture into the myriad intersections of Black and Everything. We do a lot now. But we want to do more and we need a name that can grow with us …We’re not going to engage in conversations that measure our humanity as if it were in doubt.”

OK, this bewildering answer has solved the first question. However, there are still two other questions that Kelly needs to answer. Kelly provides her solution.

Related: Inside Raceball: Washington Post Wants MLB Blacker

“There is work to be done and we’ll report on it. We’ll do it by turning a Black lens on anything and everything …This is what Andscape means to me: AND is for the infinite ways we define Blackness, and SCAPE is for our inclusive, eclectic and deeply dimensional view of the world.” 

They believe their reasoning behind the name change is still based on the belief that everyone in the world is black and all others are white. Their value comes from their unique perspective of life due to having certain skin colors.

But the thing is, no one doubts the value of their humanity … except for themselves. Opinions and a unique perspective on life do not inherently make you valuable as a person, and if Kelly believes that the only way Blacks can express their value is “turning a black lens on everything,” or endlessly redefining what it means to be black, that’s a very shallow way to find a sense of meaning.

This view of the world only makes black people withdraw within themselves, and keeps them trapped in one aspect of their humanity. This way of living is not liberating, and creating blogs to share it with the rest of us will only encourage an unhealthy view.