On Being Black in Computing During These Days

In the past few days I’ve stopped asking Black people how they’re doing. I stopped because I know how they’re doing and they know how I’m doing. I’ve also come to realize when I accidentally ask “How are you?” what I really mean is “I see you. I’m hurting right now and know that you are too”.

As a computer scientist I’ve watched as my country and the world has, what feels like, erupted. As people have let out a collective cry for justice because the status quo has become too much to bear.

I also watched the collective response of various communities and wondered how my professional community would respond. I tried to resolve the cognitive dissonance between the pain and knowing that people around the world are speaking up for injustice and the joy of watching astronauts travel to the International Space Station. A feat that would not have been possible without the technology made possible by the computing community. It was then that I realized the community’s silence was both deafening and hurtful.

“If I don’t then who will?” “Be the change you want to see.” “One voice can change the world.” Are all refrains that I reflected on while feeling helpless and unsure of what to do next. Though I am not new to speaking publicly about being a Black woman in computing, I am new to publicly asking non-Black people to speak and act so that the computing community allows everyone to fully participate. So, I reached out to my Black computing brothers and sisters. We came together and digitally locked arms to unite in solidarity.

Black people are not a monolith. Our open letter should not be interpreted to mean that each of us has had the same experience and or shares a single perspective. Rather, it means that at some point during our journey we have either experienced ourselves or know a Black person who has experienced the injustices we describe. We also do not purport to represent all Black people in computing.

As you read the open letter and call to action, I want you to know that it wasn’t written from a particular theoretical lens or with a particular framing in mind. Instead it was written from a desire to be part of a community that I can show up in as my full authentic self recognizing that for that to happen and for computing to reach the fullest potential it can offer society, there must be systemic and institutional changes.

As you read the list of signatories, know that though there are many who have and will sign their names; there are also countless others who will not, for a variety of reasons. We do not aim to represent all Black people in computing, rather we aim to speak with one voice that represents the collective of what too many of us have experienced.

As we call the community to action, we also commit to:

• Demand that technological innovations not be used to oppress Black people. Similar to how Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) ensure that care and caution are taken around medical studies involving human subjects, Equity Review Boards (ERBs) should be established to ensure that the consequences of innovations do not negatively impact people of color. This is an “unintended consequence” that can no longer be tolerated.
• Demand that the computing community invests in Black people and the historically disadvantaged upon whose uncompensated labor America was built.
• Demand that the computing community lives up to existing civil rights statutes (e.g., the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964) regarding funding and equal opportunity.
• Use our expertise with an increased level of moral and ethical behavior to support organizations and communities focused on improving the condition of Black lives.
• Support Black students, faculty, administrators, employees, and staff in the places where we live, learn, and work.
• Raise our voices when we see racism in our communities.
• Adopt the position that when one of us is traumatized as a result of inequity and racism, all of us are traumatized, so that we rally around members of our community with intention and purpose to push change.

The full letter is online here:

A curated list of actionable items is here:

A curated list of the computing community’s public statements on racial justice and diversity is here:

This is a starting point. Statements are a first step. They will be meaningless if not followed by action.

Though we pause to catch the breath that was not afforded to too many of my brothers and sisters we know that now is also the time for the real work to begin.

Regards,

Q