SXSW and Diversity: Community Voting Ends this Thursday
Community voting for the 2019 SXSW conference ends on Thursday, August 30. As I said in To Save Tech, #ListentoBlackWomen
SXSW says that community voting counts for about 30% of their decision. Since white guys have historically been overrepresented at SXSW (and Black women historically underrepresented), and most voters are past attendees, there’s a built-in bias against panels like ours. So even though it’s inconvenient, your support is greatly appreciated.
And it’s not just our panel. There are a lot of interesting proposals bringing diverse perspectives that would also be great on the SXSW program. For example:
- We Tried to Tell Y’all: Black Twitter As A Source, with Feminista Jones, Mia Moody-Ramirez, Meredith D. Clark, PhD, and L. Joy Williams
- Let’s Get Real (and Honest) About D&I Solutions!, with Bianca Jackson, KimCrayton1 🏢 💻🎙, Erika Jefferson, and Tamla Oates-Forney
- Building an App for Black Liberation, with Natalie Jeffers and Chinyere Tutashinda of the Movement for Black Lives, and Fresco Steez DeLaflyy of the Black Youth Project 100
- The Disability Story: Diversity in Media, with Maryangel Garcia-Ramos of Mexican Women With Disabilities, Hannah Soyer, Imani Barbarin, and Emily Ladau
- A Womanist Read In: Worldbuilding + Repro Justice, with Emma Cager
- Playing Indian & Other Racist Nonsense, with Alexandra Watson and Johnnie Jae
- Measuring and Addressing Workplace Bias with AI, with Milgo Yonis, Tiffany Jana, and Riikka Salonen
- Racy Conversations 4 Women: Interracial Sisterhood, with Karen Fleshman, Minda Harts, and Avis Jones-Deweever
- How Women are Rebuilding a Man-Made Internet, with Greta McAnany, Alexandra Williamson, Andrea Barrica of O School, and Catherine Connors
- Building Communities Builds Businesses, with Shireen Mitchell, Amy Vernon, and The Gary J. Nix®
There are plenty of other great proposals as well — no disrespect intended to any that aren’t included here!
If these sound like the kinds of topics you’d like to see at SXSW, here’s how to support them:
- Vote for it on the SXSW site. You’ll need to create an account to vote; once you do, the VOTE UP button is on the left-hand side.
- Leave a comment saying why you’re voting for it. To leave a comment, you’ll need to log in separately via Twitter, Facebook, or Disqus… I hate software. Still, comments are doubly helpful: the selection committee takes them into account; and, if other people see that somebody has commented, they’re more likely to comment themselves.
- Share it with your friends and colleagues who might be interested, in email or on social networks.
While you’re on the SXSW site, please also consider supporting To Save Tech, #ListentoBlackWomen, a proposal from Safiya Umoja Noble, Ph.D., Shireen Mitchell, and myself. Thanks!
Originally published at A Change Is Coming.
