A profile of Damon ("Blogger left basketball behind to chronicle black experience in Pittsburgh") ran in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Along with some details about Damon's life, it includes some background on how VSB came to be…
Through his personal blog, he connected with the Washington, D.C.-based Panama Jackson, who also was a prominent blogger. They both took down their blogs at around the same time in 2008, and from there they developed the idea of creating a group blog.
Thus was born Very Smart Brothas. Posts were receiving hundreds of comments in the site’s first week, buoyed by Mr. Young’s and Mr. Jackson’s respective followings from their previous blogs.
…and even a shout out to the VSB community.
That commenting community has endured, making VSB a relative safe space for discussion in an often-toxic Internet sphere. A sense of community has developed among the people who frequent it, said Mr. Young. Commenters have gone from virtual to real-life friends, and some relationships have been formed based on interactions on the site.
“There are kids who exist today because of Very Smart Brothas,” Mr. Young said.
(And, to answer your questions, no, Damon was not high when this picture was taken. That's just how his eyes always look. And yes, Damon owns nothing but Bougie Black Girl apparel.)