Interview

We explore Rudy's unique perspective on open networks & protocols as the foundation of community sovereignty - including his thoughts on collective intelligence, State surveillance & violence, the legacy of Black anarchism in America, the relationship between values and technical architecture, the role of capital in revolution & more.

Sovereignty is not an aesthetic. It is infrastructure." In a digital landscape defined by extraction and surveillance, true autonomy requires owning the platform, not just the profile. In Episode 18, we sit down with Rudy Fraser, founder of Blacksky Algorithms, to dismantle the current state of the internet. We discuss the creation of sovereign internet communities and the unique challenges faced by Black leaders in tech. This is not just about coding; it is about the "praxis of autonomy"—building open-source, community-driven platforms that prioritize privacy over profit.

Rudy Fraser, Founder & CEO of Blacksky Algorithms shares how Blacksky grew into the largest Black community on the decentralized web, with custom feeds used by over 2.5M people. He explains how their toolkit lets communities control algorithms, moderation, governance, and pooled funds while staying connected to a global social media ecosystem. Rudy talks about mutual aid roots, open-source development, community-written guidelines, the impact of US politics and free-speech crackdowns, and why privacy-preserving, community-run spaces are essential for Black autonomy and modern cypherpunk organizing.

What if your social media experience weren’t controlled by an algorithm or a corporation, but by your community? That’s the idea behind Blacksky, a decentralized project built on the AT Protocol — the same infrastructure powering Bluesky.

What sets Blacksky apart technically is its innovative use of the AT Protocol (Authenticated Transfer Protocol), Bluesky’s decentralized social networking standard. Unlike traditional social networks, where a single company controls all user data and interactions, the AT Protocol allows users to own their identity and move their data between apps and services – similar to how email works across different providers.