Black Voices of RHAP: The State of Black Representation in Reality TV & Podcast Coverage Written by Matt Scott, cohost of the Wrestling RHAPup and host of Black Voices of RHAP The experiences of Black people, whether watching reality shows or talking about them on podcasts, is different, and it’s time that we talk about it. While there’s still plenty of work to be done, over the last year, we’ve seen major shifts in the representation of Black people, not only on reality shows and among their winners (including Deleesa aka Trevor on the Circle, Jaida Essense Hall, Shea Coulee, and Symone on Rupaul’s Drag Race, Tychon Carter-Newman in BBCAN9, and even Da’Vonne as America’s Favorite in BB22) but we’ve also seen an increase in Black voices in the coverage of shows – including the RHAP Class of 2020 and Black Voices of Survivor podcasts. This is a space for the RHAP community to get to know us, as Black people who love reality TV and podcasting, better, and for us to talk more about our perspectives on the state of representation in Reality TV, and podcast coverage. This is a space to talk about challenges and opportunities, negatives and positives.This is a space for the RHAP community to get to know us, as Black people who love reality TV and podcasting, better, and for us to talk more about our perspectives on the state of representation in Reality TV, and podcast coverage. This is a space to talk about challenges and opportunities, negatives and positives. Follow Along: Introduction with Rob Cesternino: 0:14 Past Panel: 13:30 Present Panel: 59:06 Future Panel: 1:57:13 Thank you to RHAP for providing this space for us to create this project. Thank you, also, to all of the podcasters involved. In order of appearance: Matt Scott @MattScottGW Mari Forth @MariTalks2Much Isaiah Goins @8BallBangers Aaron Robertson @AARobertson94 Aman Adwin @AmanAdwin Chantele Francis @Chan__Fran Phil Thompson @ListenUpPhilip Sarena Foster @SarenaFoster Chappell @Chappells_Show Aysha Welch @AyshaLikeAsia Jason Reed @JayR1085 Joshua Williams @JoshCEOJW Jacob Jones @JacobJ_Jones AJ Norris @TheKidNorris Geneva Guadalupe @PeaceLoveGen Gia Worthy @ClassicallyGia Brice Izyah @BriceIzyah For more on this topic, check out the following: Black Voices of Survivor: A Conversation with Jamal Shipman Black Voices of Survivor: Roundtable Wednesday, June 24 Black Voices of Survivor: A Conversation with Julia Carter plus J’Tia Hart on the Survivor Anti-Racism Petition Black Voices of Survivor: A Conversation with Sabrina Thompson Mitchell Black Voices of Survivor: Changing the Game of Survivor Black Voices of Survivor: A Conversation with Sean Rector