Black Women Using Digital Hoodoo to Cast Spells in the Metaverse

The metaverse may be touted as the future, but for Black women, it’s a space that demands reclaiming, remixing, and radical reinvention. As tech giants construct virtual worlds where identity, economy, and culture intersect, a new wave of Black women are reshaping the digital landscape—transforming Web3 into a realm of liberation, ritual, and resistance.

Enter digital hoodoo: a modern-day conjuring where blockchain intersects with Black spirituality, and avatars carry the weight of ancestral memory. It goes beyond technology—it’s about reclaiming space, rewriting code, and ensuring that Black creativity is not just consumed but owned and safeguarded.

Building Virtual Sanctuaries

Black women have always been cultural architects, and the metaverse is no exception. This time, however, they are setting the rules. Individuals like Mary Spio, the brain behind CEEK VR, empower artists to showcase their talents and generate income in digital spaces without traditional gatekeepers. Similarly, Bianca Jackson spearheads BrickRose Exchange, a virtual hub fostering Black creativity and connections across borders.

Then there’s Iris Nevins, the founder of Umba Daima, a creative studio amplifying Black artists in the NFT realm. Beyond selling digital art, Nevins educates Black creators on blockchain’s potential, ensuring they stay ahead in the Web3 revolution. In this new era, knowledge isn’t just power—it’s currency.

Hoodoo, Cyberspace, and the Ancestral Algorithm

While the metaverse is often seen as a lawless digital frontier, Black women view the idea of fostering safe spaces in hostile environments as ancestral wisdom. Hoodoo, a spiritual tradition rooted in resistance, leverages available resources to shape reality. The digital realm is merely a new canvas.

Black creators infuse the metaverse with sacred practices that have preserved Black culture for generations. Through VR, NFTs, and digital narratives, they create environments where history is not erased but elevated. Consider the Afronauts NFT project, reimagining Zambia’s 1960s space program through Afrofuturism. Artists like Stacie Ant use augmented reality to narrate tales of Black resilience, bridging tech and tradition.

This is where digital hoodoo thrives: summoning something from nothing, bending spatial and temporal rules, and honoring the past while forging a liberated future.

Owning the Magic—And the Marketplace

Despite their influence, Black women face systemic barriers in Web3, mirroring challenges in other sectors. According to a Digital Undivided study, Black women-led startups receive less than 1% of venture capital funding. The metaverse is no exception.

Nonetheless, Black women are breaking the cycle. Initiatives like Black Women Blockchain Council ensure Black women are not just participants but power players in Web3. Through education, mentorship, and funding, these platforms reshape the narrative, one blockchain at a time.

Groups like CyberBaat use NFTs to establish an economy where African and diasporic artists own their creations, preserving Black creativity as more than a passing trend.

The Future is Ours to Code

As the metaverse evolves, Black women see an open field where rules are fluid. This presents an opportunity, not a caution. From digital activism to decentralized economies, from NFT rituals to VR sanctuaries, Black women redefine Web3 as a vehicle for transformation.

This isn’t just engagement—it’s empowerment. It’s the motion of digital hoodoo—a spell cast into cyberspace, ensuring that Black women shape, code, and manifest worlds of their design in the unfolding future.